After working all your life, the thought of reaching retirement should be an exciting prospect. There are a number of options available so don’t panic if you haven’t thought about this before.

Here are a few things to think about if retirement is close and you don’t know what to do:

1. Where will my retirement income come from?
   Your retirement income could come from a number of sources such as the state pension, personal and occupational pension schemes, savings, investments and insurance policies. You may also have funds from paying off your mortgage early, moving to a smaller house, your partner’s pension or an inheritance. It’s always best to find out as much information as possible about any income you will have available before you start planning.
2. How do I find out about my pension plans?
   Your pension provider (you may have more than one) should be in touch before the selcted retirement date of your plan, but you can also contact them to get a rough idea of your pension’s value before this time. You will need to find out whether you have a set level of income promised, or a fund available to buy benefits. You can read more about this in our ‘Retirement information’ box on the right.
3. I have lost contact with my old employers and their pension schemes
   If you have changed jobs a number of times through your working life you may have lost contact with previous employers. If you think you may have old pensions but are not sure of the details, the Pension Tracing Service can usually help. 
4. How much do I need to live on in retirement?
   Try our budget planner and our annuity calculator to fund out how much you might need to live on in retirement and how much your pension funds might give you.
5. What if I don’t have enough?
   You may be allowed to delay taking benefits at your retirement date and continue contributing to potentially build up a larger fund for later on in retirment, so contact your pension provider(s).
6. I have a pension fund, how do I start getting retirement income now?
   If you have a pension fund there are a number of options to provide you with regular retirement income. Read the information in ‘Your retirement options’ on the right to find out more.

What next?
If you’d like to find out more about where to start, you can either follow the ‘next’ link at the bottom of the page, or, if you prefer you can use the links to information and tools on the right.