How to get financial advice

If you're over (or approaching) the age of 55, and your transfer value is more than £30,000, you have the opportunity to take financial advice that's paid for by Raytheon. This is being offered to help you think through your pension options and decide on how and when to take your Scheme benefits.  You can take up the offer of advice once a year from age 55 until you decide to retire or transfer your benefits.

The advice is provided by a firm called WPS Advisory Limited (WPSA) who are independent financial advisers authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Even though Raytheon pays for the advice, WPSA is totally independent of Raytheon and the Scheme and will only advise what’s best for you.

If you’re living overseas, WPSA will not be able to advise you because of the issues associated with residency and tax status. However, you can still have an initial discussion with them to help you understand your options.

Please note, Raytheon will only pay for advice that's taken through WPSA.

1. If you're over (or approaching) age 55, ask for a retirement or transfer value quote with a retirement date no more than 6 months in the future*. You can obtain a quote if you email: raytheonpensions@buck.com.
2. You’ll receive a pack of information along with your retirement illustration that explains more about the financial advice and who to contact to initiate it.
3. When you phone WPSA they’ll have a brief chat with you and set up a meeting with you on the phone at a future date.
4. At your appointment, WPSA will discuss your personal situation with you and provide you with a recommendation for what you could do with your pension benefits in the Scheme. To make the most of this appointment you'll need to come prepared to talk through what you want from your retirement, what income you'll need and what other savings you have.  There's a useful leaflet from WPSA that tells you a bit more about what to expect.

*Even if you don’t intend to retire within 6 months, you can use this quote as the basis for a discussion with WPSA.  This will help you to plan for your future retirement as it will give a good indication of what you can expect from each of your options. 

Once you’re ready to retire or transfer your benefits you will need to request a new quote and have a further discussion with WPSA.  You should be aware that transfer values can go up or down depending on a number of things including interest rates and inflation expectations, so your transfer value will be different in any new quote you request.

If you’re not yet 55, or you’re over the age of 55 and your transfer value is less than £30,000 and you want to discuss your options with a financial adviser, you’ll need to pay for that advice yourself.

If you're over 55 and have a transfer value of less than £30,000 you could use WPSA who have been appointed by Raytheon to give financial advice.  They've arranged a special rate for members of the Scheme.  WPSA are independent financial advisers regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority who are specialists in providing retirement advice. To use WPSA you'd need to ask for a retirement quote from Buck first and then follow the process for getting financial advice.

Otherwise, you may find www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk or www.vouchedfor.co.uk useful starting points for finding an adviser near you.

You should make sure your adviser is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority. You should always check whether an independent financial adviser will charge you for any services they offer, and that you agree any fees with them beforehand.