All the pension knowledge you need, in one place

Stay one step ahead…

From how pensions work to the benefits of having one in the first place…get all the insight, facts and stats you need to make the right decisions when it comes to probably the most important savings pot you’ll ever have.

How to use your pension discovery cloud

Search for what you’re looking for…

Explore the different sections in the discovery cloud.

Here’s some starting points…

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How do pensions work?

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The benefits of having a pension

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Different types of pension

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Managing your pension

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What is pension advice?

Your pension. Made simple.

We will help you make the right decision about your pension, with advice that’s refreshingly frank.

Strength in numbers

Thousands of people trust us to manage £½ billion of their pension savings

Our advisers have spent 35,000 hours studying

Every 1 hr and 6 mins someone asks Portafina to review their pension

Jamie Smith-Thompson says…

“Your voyage into the world of pensions starts here. Explaining pensions in plain English is at the heart of everything we do. So, we’ve cut the jargon and on every discovery cloud page, you’ll find the essential pension facts and answers to the most frequently asked questions. Can’t find what you need? We have a team of pension boffins who can help.”

Jamie Smith-Thompson, MD at Portafina

Final salary pensions

A final salary pension is a totally different animal to a personal pension, even if the end goal of providing income for your retirement is exactly the same. The rules that surround them, the level of flexibility and ownership on offer and, crucially, who is taking the investment risk are all different.

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The state pension

Perhaps surprisingly, the specific purpose of the state pension isn’t officially described. It is generally accepted, however, that it has a dual purpose to both alleviate poverty in retirement (with means-tested pension credit also available as a top up), and to provide a foundation income that you can build on with your own pension / savings or other income means.

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What is pension release?

Pension release means taking money early from your pension. You might also have come across the phrase pension access or pension unlocking; it means exactly the same thing.

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The difference between pension guidance and advice

In 2014, when George Osborne announced the changes in the Budget, he made the highly appealing declaration that everyone approaching retirement would be entitled to free, face-to-face advice. In the weeks that followed, this was changed to free guidance.

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