By the time we have been working for a decade or two, it is not uncommon to have accumulated multiple pension plans. There’s no wrong time to start thinking about pension consolidation, but you might find yourself thinking about it if you’re starting a new job or nearing retirement. If you struggle to navigate the UK’s Inheritance Tax regime, you are not alone. Whether you are setting up your estate planning or sorting out the estate of a departed family member, the system can be hard to follow. We look at how getting your planning wrong could also mean your family is faced with an unexpectedly high Inheritance Tax bill.

Trying to second-guess the impact of events such as Brexit or the recent stock market correction – or even attempting to make a bet on them – rarely pays off. Instead, investors who focus on long-term horizons – at least five to ten years – have historically fared much better. It’s important not to let current global uncertainties affect your financial planning for the years ahead. We look at why investors need to keep to their strategies and keep moving ahead consistently by spreading risk and growing their wealth for the long term. Without professional advice and careful financial planning, HM Revenue & Customs can become the single largest beneficiary of your estate following your death. We consider the findings of a recent survey about Inheritance Tax that shows many wealthy Britons over the age of 45 are either ignoring estate planning solutions or they have forgotten about the benefits these can provide.

We’ve now entered a new age of retirement planning with the introduction of pension freedoms. Thinking about pensions sooner rather than later can mean the difference between a comfortable retirement and struggling to make ends meet. Regardless of the life stage you have arrived at, it is important to receive expert and professional advice on your pension plans and requirements. However, the UK’s middle-aged workers could be sleepwalking into retirement poverty. Four in ten people aged between 40 and 65 cannot accurately estimate their total pension savings for retirement.

A combination of increases in life expectancy and the growing number of retirees relative to the working-age population means that individuals will now have to save harder for their own retirement. With historic ultra-low interest rates on savings, many investors over the past decade have turned to income-paying funds as an alternative to cash-based savings. We also look at how our changing life plans and priorities mean we now encounter varying income needs and goals throughout our life and, when investing, how certain innate behavioural traits influence our decision-making. New research finds consumers could be missing out on thousands of pounds in retirement by not shopping around for their pension product. This means their pension pot may not stretch as far as they hope it will, yet a significant proportion of people expect their retirement income to cover much more than just the essentials.

In this edition there is a heavy focus on pensions and retirement planning. We consider the ways to assess your likely income in retirement and how much you need to put away now to enjoy the kind of lifestyle you want in later life. If you've accumulated numerous workplace pensions over the years from different employers, it can be difficult to keep track of how they are performing. The process of bringing all your pensions together is called ‘consolidation’. It is often referred to as a transfer. If you have more than one pension pot, you might want to consider consolidating all of your pots into one for simplicity. You may also benefit from lower charges by doing this. Deciding what to do with your pension savings is an important step we will all have to take. Following changes introduced in April 2015, we look at how you now have more choice and flexibility than ever before over how and when you can take money from your pension pot.