Dear readers,

After six years answering your brilliant (and often challenging) questions, I have written my final Ask Tom. I will remain at AJ Bell as director of public policy but my fantastic colleague, head of policy Rachel Vahey, will now be the one responding in these pages.

When I first suggested creating a weekly pensions ‘agony uncle’ column in 2016, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous our call for readers to tell us their financial problems would be met with the sound of crickets chirping.

Talking about our finances is often socially taboo and pensions can be horrendously complex. Why would anyone take the time to email their challenges to someone they had never met?

I needn’t have worried. I have been privileged to receive and answer hundreds of reader questions during a period of huge uncertainty in the world of personal finance and beyond.

In pensions, dealing with change has been the big challenge, both for savers and experts alike. Automatic enrolment has brought millions of people into pension saving for the first time, but the challenge of building a fund big enough to last throughout your retirement is significant.

The ‘pension freedoms’ reforms introduced in 2015 have been a retirement income gamechanger, providing complete flexibility when you come to access your pension – but also demanding greater levels of engagement. The questions I’ve received around this subject show lots of readers are trying to make sensible decisions with their hard-earned savings, with a clear-eyed focus on the long term.

A new, simpler state pension became reality a year later, although there remains plenty of complexity to navigate. The triple-lock pledge to increase the state pension by the highest of average earnings, inflation or 2.5%, in particular, has often reared its head, with rumours constantly circulating about its future.

And then there are the pension tax rules, the topic which has generated by far the highest number of questions from readers. This is no surprise given the complexity of those rules and the propensity of governments to tinker with them when Budgets come round.

I will continue to campaign for simplification and stability in those rules – something I know many of you would dearly love to see. The decision by the Government to scrap the lifetime allowance is hopefully a step in the right direction on that front, although it may be for a Labour government to provide certainty for savers over the medium term.

Finally, a thank you to you, the readers of this column. I have been blown away by the volume and variety of questions we have received every week. Without you, this simply wouldn’t work!

From next week, your agony uncle becomes an agony aunt, as Ask Tom is replaced by Ask Rachel. I have known Rachel for over a decade and worked with her for several years at AJ Bell. She is a fountain of knowledge on all things pensions and I have no doubt she will provide fantastic help and guidance.

Tom Selby, AJ Bell Head of Retirement Policy

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION ON RETIREMENT ISSUES?

Send an email to askrachel@ajbell.co.uk with the words ‘Retirement question’ in the subject line. We’ll do our best to respond in a future edition of Shares.

Please note, we only provide information and we do not provide financial advice. If you’re unsure please consult a suitably qualified financial adviser. We cannot comment on individual investment portfolios.

‹ Previous2024-01-11Next ›