How to prepare as your retirement gets closer

When you retire, you can usually take part of your pension fund as a tax-free lump sum

The best place to start is to sit down with a financial broker who will look at all the options available to you.

If you’ve saved into pensions with several employers over your working life, for each private pension that you have, you’ll need to find out who the administrators are, get their contact details, make sure the administrators have your up-to-date contact details and check where the pension scheme is.

Bear in mind that it can sometimes be difficult to trace old pensions, particularly if you’re no longer working with the company that offered that pension. Contact the Pensions Authority if you have difficulty tracing your pension, as it keeps a register of company schemes. You might also find it helpful to ask former colleagues who also worked with the employer if they have the contact details of the administrators.