The National Association of Pension Funds has today launched a new financial education service to be rolled out in a series of seminars.
The organisation said it was designed to work for pension schemes to offer to their members as well as for individuals approaching retirement.
The aim of the seminars is to “provide useful support in addition to, and independent of, the Government’s guidance service, Pension Wise”.
The NAPF said the sessions will provide “information only and do not include or constitute personal financial advice”.
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The NAPF’s education and training arm, the NAPF Academy, supported by WEALTH at work, a provider of financial education and employee wealth management services in the workplace, has teamed up to offer the service.
Joanne Segars, NAPF chief executive, said: “Savers tell us they are positive about the pension freedoms but they are also aware of the risks they now face when managing their savings in retirement.
“We want to help savers make the most of the new freedoms and our partnership with WEALTH at work has been designed to do just that.
“We’ve made sure that these sessions are available to both individuals, who might want additional support when planning their retirement income, as well as schemes who may want to make the seminars available to their members.
“The seminars have been designed for anyone who is approaching retirement in the next couple of years, or is thinking about accessing their pension pot in the near future.”

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The organisations said the programme will help savers answer 3 key questions:

- what do I need to know?
- what are my options?
- how do I action them?

Pre-retirement financial education seminars start from September in locations including: Edinburgh; Harrogate; Liverpool; Manchester; Birmingham; and, London. NAPF fund members can book multiple places at these sessions, which are also open to individuals.
The sessions have been entitled ‘understanding the risks of retirement - making sense of your options’.
Jonathan Watts-Lay, director of WEALTH, said: “Since the pension changes, it has never been more important to provide high quality financial education to those who are nearing retirement.
“We have been delivering financial education for many years and know what a difference it can make to savers as they work out how to get the most out of their pension and other savings and investments.”
Each session will address key issues individuals should think about when considering their finances in retirement, including sources of income, the impact of risk, being tax efficient and recognising the actions that are key when planning ahead. The seminars will also look at the importance of taking into account other savings and investments as well as pensions, when planning for retirement.
Fees for the course will be £210 + VAT for NAPF members and £395 + VAT for non-members.