The Electrical Industries Charity explains how it has used its expertise to help one industry professional to plan for a stress-free retirement.
Retirement is a huge life change. It can mean slowing down, spending days in the garden, reading, golfing, cooking or it could mean looking after grandchildren, volunteering or learning a skill. It is important we understand what funds we have for when we retire and how we can make the best decisions for our retirement, no matter if it is close or far away.
Jilly’s story
The Electrical Industries Charity recently supported Jilly, an office manager for an electrical distributor. Jilly had worked in the sector for over 23 years and she contacted the EIC for information and advice regarding retirement. She had been thinking about retiring for more than five years but because of issues with her mortgage and a recent divorce she had been unable to retire until the age of 68. Jilly had recently become aware of an old employer’s pension and wanted to combine her private pension pot with her employer’s pension and her delayed state pension. She had carried out some internet research into combining her pots and managing her pensions but felt overwhelmed with the advice online and was unsure of a lot of its legitimacy. The Charity Welfare team signposted Jilly to The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) which provides free, impartial guidance about pensions. TPAS cover all workplace, general, personal, stake holder and state pension schemes and can handle general and specific enquiries. TPAS were able to advise Jilly on combining her pots and how to make them work best for her and her retirement plans. The Electrical Industries Charity also advised Jilly to contact the governmental pension service as she had deferred her state pension for more than one year.
Managing the pennies
Alongside TPAS and the governmental pension service, Jilly’s Charity caseworker also directed her to the Money Advice Service – a free service set up by the government to help manage finances. Here, Jilly could find an independent financial advisor to ensure her pension was working as hard as it could for her needs.
Preparing for the future
With the help of a financial advisor Jilly is looking forward to a financially comfortable future. She has since downsized and is now living on the coast, a forever dream of hers. The Electrical Industries Charity have now closed Jilly’s case and wish her the best of luck in her retirement.
Contact the EIC Welfare team on 0800 652 1618 or email support@electricalcharity.org
