Manage your money for financial confidence

Here’s how you can start taking control of your money right away

Track your spending

It’s important to understand where your money goes each month. Use a spreadsheet, a budgeting app, or your Smart Pension account to track pension contributions, withdrawals, and balances. This visibility helps ensure your money is working for you across all accounts.

Create a realistic budget

A budget ensures you’re spending within your means while saving for your long-term goals. Take expenses into account and make sure you know how much you want to put into your pension each month. Adjusting your budget regularly will help you stay on track with your finances.

Set clear financial goals

Break your goals into achievable steps - you may want to pay off debt, build an emergency fund, or plan for retirement. Regularly reviewing your progress against your goals will help you stay motivated and on track.

Build an emergency fund

A general rule of thumb is to try and put aside three to six months of your salary as an emergency fund. Having this emergency fund of savings ensures security for both day-to-day life and long-term retirement planning.

Reduce high-interest debt

If you have high-interest debt, such as credit cards or payday loans, you may wish to consider prioritising its repayment. Reducing this type of debt can help lower the amount of interest you pay over time and improve your overall financial position. 

Once the debt is more manageable, you might then consider directing any available savings towards your pension. As always, the right approach will depend on your personal circumstances, and seeking guidance or regulated financial advice may be helpful.

Use round-ups and micro-savings

Round-ups are a savings feature that automatically rounds up your debit card purchases to the nearest pound. The spare change is then added into your savings account. 

Automatic round-ups in your bank or app can grow over time, helping you boost savings without extra effort. 

You can add money to your Smart Pension app, as your savings grow from round-ups, you can easily add this to your pension and benefit from compounding interest to help your savings grow. A little goes a long way. 

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How Smart Pension supports your financial wellbeing

From tracking your savings to exploring your retirement options, your Smart Pension account brings everything together in one place to help support the future you want. This means you can start planning your retirement without needing to move your pension elsewhere.

You also have access to our online planning tools. The retirement needs calculator is designed to give you a simple, personalised view of your future. By answering a few quick questions, you can explore what your retirement might look like and how much income you may need. The life expectancy calculator then helps you understand how long your savings might need to last.

And as you plan for retirement, we’re here to help you retire your way. From the age of 55, which will increase to 57 in 2028, or when you choose to stop working, you can take tax-free cash, draw an income when you need it, and flexibly move from saving to spending, all from the account you’re using today.

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