Financial advice
You should seek independent financial advice before making important decisions about your pension benefits. Neither BA Pensions nor the Trustee can provide financial advice but the following websites can help you find financial advisers in your area:
You should always ask your financial adviser questions to identify any increased risks associated with how you may be considering accessing their pension benefits. The Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA) has provided a useful guide on what to ask an adviser.
Free guidance from Pension Wise
You can also take advantage of free impartial guidance which is available from Pension Wise. Pension Wise is a Government service from MoneyHelper that offers free, impartial pensions guidance about your defined contribution pension options. An appointment with Pension Wise is free and will help you understand what your overall financial situation will be when you retire.
It’ll talk you through your options to help you make the right decision. You’ll also find out about the other factors you need to consider when deciding on your options before retirement.
Pensions Advice Allowance (PAA)
The Pensions Advice Allowance (PAA) is a Government initiative that allows individuals with defined contribution (DC) to use any AVC savings to pay towards retirement financial advice. In APS, only AVC funds are classified as DC savings. If you have BA AVCs you can use up to £500 from your AVC fund up to three times to pay for this advice. You can ask your Scheme’s Trustee to pay a single payment of any amount (up to a maximum of £500) directly to your FCA-regulated adviser.
Further details about the PAA and the forms you need to complete to request a PAA payment to be made are available in our online Pension Advice Allowance (PAA) pack.