Building society the West Brom is running a series of pension clinics this month to encourage more customers to start planning for retirement.
The Black Country based mutual has arranged events in all 37 of its branches, starting with Sedgley on Wednesday, 10 October, where people can discuss their current situation with an independent financial adviser.
In a recent survey of its customers, the West Brom found nearly a third (32%) of non-retired respondents said they weren’t yet saving for their retirement on a regular basis. Only 18% were ‘very confident’ they knew how much they needed to save in order to fund their retirement properly; 43% were ‘fairly confident’ and 23% ‘not very confident’.
Shaine Jones, Retail Manager at the West Brom said: “We all dream of enjoying financial security when we retire, but making this a reality is unlikely to happen without careful planning.
“Understanding how pensions work is a complicated business, which is why we have organised clinics throughout our branch network to offer help from a team of qualified experts.”
Clinic appointments will last for half an hour, but places are limited and so it is advisable to contact the building society in advance to make a booking. There is no charge to attend and no obligation to make an investment. Some fees or charges may apply if action is taken after the initial review with an adviser.
Shaine added: “Our advisers are from a partner firm called Wren Sterling. Not only are they specialists in their field, they also offer fully independent advice and can therefore make recommendations which are tailored to a customer’s specific needs and life stage.”
The West Brom is the UK’s seventh largest building society and offers a range of savings, mortgage and investment products.
Other pension clinics include Handsworth branch (16 October), Birmingham city centre on New Street (18 October), Walsall (23 October) and Wolverhampton (25 October).
