Share Sounds presented by Sarah Pennells (1) related to Pensions & Retirement - Workplace

If you have hopes for an early retirement you might want to check how much you're contributing to your pension each month. New research suggests the minimum contributions may not be enough however there is some good news as even small extra contributions can make a big difference overtime. To talk through the figures Share Radio's Tom Hill spoke to Former Pensions Minister and Director of Policy at Royal London, Steve Webb.

Sarah Pennells is joined in the studio by digital editor of Pensions Insight and Engaged Investor Sara Benwell. Today they discuss the latest league tables of UK energy suppliers as well as the growing popularity of contactless payment. Plus could viewers be fined for using BBC iPlayer without a licence? All these stories and more on The News Review.

This week Sarah Pennells explores the issues revolving automatic enrolment pensions, the government's programme to encourage more people to save for their retirement through a workplace pension. While millions of people are being placed into their workplace pension, new research from pensions provider Aviva shows that one and a half million don't know what their money is invested in. Sarah is joined by Chris Daems, from Cervello Financial Planning, Ranila Ravi Burslem, from NEST, and Malcolm Goodwin from Aviva to discuss the topic.

If you're close to retirement, or thinking of setting up a pension pot, where do you start when it comes to choosing a private pension? Lorna Blythe, from Royal London, explains to Sarah Pennells what pensions are and how they work; Danisha Chada, a chartered and certified financial planner with Smith and Williamson, looks at how much help could a pension company give to its individual customers, Alan Chan, from IFS Wealth and Pensions, explains what the first steps are when taking out a pension for the first time.

If you're self-employed and need to set up a pension, where do you start? Sarah Pennells looks at a recent report published by Royal London with former Pensions Minister Steve Webb, currently Director of Policy at pensions and life insurance provider Royal London. Paul Allington founder and head of The Code Guy, gives his own account of setting up his pension, while Claire Walsh, Chartered Financial Planner and Head of Advice at Unbiased, gives advice on how to set up a pension plan. Sarah discusses whether the new Lifetime ISA can also help people set their pension.

If you’re thinking about retiring, what things should you look out for? Sarah Pennells is joined by Rowena Griffiths, from Female Adviser, and Michelle Cracknell, from the Pensions Advisory Service, and Jamie Jenkins, from Standard Life. Together they look at what to do with your pension once you retire, analysing the difficult jargon in more detail and simplifying the daunting paperwork in pension forms.

Sarah Pennells is joined in the studio by Jane King, an IFA at Ash-Ridge Private Finance, Adam Lake of Turn2Us, Tom Connor of Drewberry Insurance and over the phone by Alistair McQueen of Aviva, to discuss how to best protect your finances if you're self-employed and don't have the security of working for a large company or organisation. What are the benefits and drawbacks of being self-employed? Do the positives outweigh the negatives?

Sarah Pennells is joined in the studio by Rachael Saunders from Business In the Community, and over the phone by Michelle Cracknell of The Pensions Regulatory Service and Fiona Tait of Royal London. Sarah and her guests talk about working in retirement and setting up a small business whilst receiving your pension . Sarah and her guests discuss the practicalities of setting up a business in retirement, as well as looking at what the rules say about receiving your pension whilst still at work.

Sarah Pennells is joined in the studio by Alan Higham, founder of Pensions Champion, and Tina Weeks, founder of Serenity Financial Planning, to discuss the state pension, and look at what you will actually get if you're due to retire. Despite being called a flat rate or single tier pension, not everyone will necessarily get the same amount and far fewer women than men will qualify for the full figure of £155.65 a week. In the programme Sarah will be looking at who is entitled to the new state pension and the differences between the current and the new pension.

Sarah Pennells is joined in the studio by Griselda Williams of TRUST|Pensions and on the phone with Debbie Houghton from the Rowan Organisation and Sarah-Jane Butler from Parental Choice to discuss how to set up a pension if you employee someone for help around the house or with your children such as a nanny, childminder, gardener or cleaner.