Retirement
The platform putting retirement at the heart of your proposition
6 min read 20 Feb 23
If retirement planning is core to your firm’s offer, you’ll know how important it is to have the right platform to support it. Vince Smith-Hughes puts the case for M&G Wealth Platform as the go-to retirement-planning partner, wherever the client is on their journey.
Almost every day it seems advisers are being urged to demonstrate their ability to deliver good client outcomes.
From Consumer Duty to the FCA’s recently-launched thematic review of retirement income advice, firms need to show they provide the knowledge, the systems and the investment choice to enable good decision-making and suitable solutions for every client.
Powering advice through retirement
Whether they are an accumulator, consolidator or income seeker, our platform is here to support your clients at every stage of their retirement journey. The case studies below show how our range of features, combined with clear all-in-one charging make us a good choice for retirement planning.
And if there is a particularly complex pension or tax issue to consider, the award-winning M&G Wealth Technical Team ** is on hand to help.
**Named ‘Best Technical Support’ at the Professional Paraplanner Awards for six years running (2017-2022)
- Accumulator
- Consolidator
- Income seeker
The Client
Meera is 36 and works as a qualified orthodontist
She is keen to build up her pension pot over the next 30 years with a view to retiring in her mid-60s. She wants to expose her capital to a broad range of investment opportunity – with the scope to manage the level of investment risk she is taking to safeguard her capital.
The M&G Wealth Platform
- Digital SIPP provides easy, swift online set-up – plus the option to allow Meera to view and track her portfolio online
- Investment range to support the adviser’s preferred strategy and approach, including multi-asset, model portfolios and DFMs
- Smoothed funds available as a standalone or diversified portfolio solution to help reduce the impact of market volatility
- No cost for SIPP, to trade funds or direct securities – so less of Meera’s portfolio growth is lost in charges
- Full integration of SIPPs, ISAs, Bonds and GIAs to enable flexible and tax-efficient planning across Meera’s whole portfolio
The Client
Victor is 57 and works as a building contractor
Victor is 57 and works as a building contractor. After a varied career path, he has multiple pensions that he would like to bring together under one plan. He would like to keep contributing to his pension pot for another eight to 10 years – but would also like the flexibility to start taking benefits if needs be.
The M&G Wealth Platform
- Digital SIPP with fully online transfer process means Victor’s pensions could be consolidated in days – not weeks or months
- The consolidated pension pot can be managed and tracked online
- Transfers can be cash or in-specie – so Victor never needs to be ‘out of the market’
- Wide investment choice enables Victor’s adviser to take his or her preferred approach to managing capital, including DFMs and model portfolios
- Smoothed funds provide an alternative to lifestyle funds as a way to transition into retirement without too much volatility
- Full flexibility to allow Victor to start taking benefits – but still make tax-efficient contributions*
*May be subject to the Money Purchase Annual Allowance rules on contributions once benefits start to be taken
The Client
Ann is 60 and about to retire from her business as a freelance management consultant
Having built up a number of personal pensions and ISAs, she is looking to generate a reliable and tax-efficient retirement income, while giving her remaining pension pot the potential to continue to grow.
The M&G Wealth Platform
- Adviser can consolidate Ann’s pensions into the Digital SIPP easily, swiftly and all online
- A wealth of investment options can support Ann’s adviser’s preferred income-investing approach, including income-focused DFM services and model portfolios
- Smoothed funds can address ‘sequencing risk’ – the danger of the portfolio value falling sharply in Ann’s early retirement years, limiting her level of future income
- A full range of income withdrawal options including flexi-access and dripfeed drawdown enable the adviser and Ann to choose what income to take, when and how
- Cash ringfencing enables income capital to be kept clearly separate from other assets
The right infrastructure
For any firm that’s focused on retirement planning, that will mean demonstrating that the infrastructure is in place to support every stage of the client journey.
To ensure they comply, firms may be reviewing their advice infrastructure – from their centralised investment and/or retirement propositions (CIPs/CRPs) to the investment platform they use to put their advice into action.
At M&G Wealth platform, we’ve brought together online functionality, tools and investment choice to deliver a truly comprehensive retirement-planning platform. Our goal is to support advisers and their clients whether they are looking to build a pension pot, consolidate pensions into one plan, or start drawing a sustainable retirement income.
From Digital SIPP to DFMs
Retirement planning with us is now easier too as our Digital SIPP is live– our end-to-end digital pension application solution that enables online set-up, including an online transfer process for pension consolidation.
Our Digital SIPP also offers a range of income withdrawal options, including flexi-access and dripfeed drawdown, so clients have full flexibility to choose what income to take from their pension and when.
We’ve added to the wide choice of funds available on our platform, with 6 new DFMs with 72 new MPS solutions, 26 new fund managers and the inclusion of insured smoothed funds. All to suit clients in accumulation or decumulation phases.
By offering an ‘expected growth rate’, smoothed funds can support a range of clients. These range from young accumulators looking for growth without too much volatility, pre-retirees looking to consolidate investment gains in the run-up to retirement, or income seekers needing to alleviate sequencing of return risk (where losses are crystallised when income is taken).
The information contained in this page is for professional Financial Adviser use only. If you are a private investor, please visit the Private Investor section or contact your Financial Adviser for more information.