27 September 2006
According to research from IFA Promotion, retired Britons are losing out to the tune of £2.7 billion as a result of unclaimed pension credits or unnecessary tax payments.
Between 34 per cent and 44 per cent of pensioners do not realise their full entitlement to pension credits, which totals over £2 billion-worth of money down the drain. Equally, unnecessary payments to the taxman total £658 million every year.
David Elms, chief executive of independent financial advice site unbiased.co.uk, blamed “apathy [and] confusion” for people not claiming “vital sources of retirement income”.
“Under-provision for retirement remains a crucial problem for the UK and those that are in a position to save more should be doing so,” he said. “However, it seems that people are compounding the situation.
“No one likes paying more tax than is necessary, and no one likes missing out on something that is rightfully their own, so we are urging people to either kick-start their pension and tax planning or review their current situation with urgency.”
Mr Elms recommended a trip to an independent financial adviser to help people get this lifestyle change off the ground.