10 FEB 2026

IFGL Pensions Customer Newsletter

Edition 2 - February 2026

 

Welcome to the second edition of our customer newsletter.

Last time, I talked about the work we have been doing to act on the results of the Customer Service Survey, which was carried out in conjunction with Investors In Customers (IIC) last summer.

The inception of this newsletter was a direct result of your comments in the survey, but we haven’t stopped there. We’ve been working hard on a new Knowledge area on our website which is packed full of information to help you understand your pension, make informed decisions and plan for the future.

We talk more about it below.

Plus, our Technical Services Manager Steve Berridge reminds you that the end of the current tax year is fast approaching, meaning it is time to speak to your financial adviser and make some decisions about how to use up any tax allowances which you may benefit from.

We hope you find our newsletter useful and informative. We’d welcome any suggestions for future content so please feel free to email us with your feedback.

I’d once again like to thank you for trusting IFGL Pensions with your future.

All the very best,

Rachel

 

What role does IFGL Pensions play in administering your Pension?

We have launched a new Knowledge area on the IFGL Pensions website.

You can take a look at it by visiting our home page and using the Knowledge drop down menu.

It provides a range of useful information in an easy-to-access format, including our Pensions Made Clear blog, along with links to our calculators and tools, jargon buster and Our services to you pages. There’s also a special section for past editions of this newsletter.

The Knowledge area will be updated on a rolling basis and so it’s worth checking back periodically.

As Rachel mentioned above, the creation of the Knowledge area came out of the results of last year’s Customer Service Survey, which we carried out in conjunction with Investor In Customers (IIC).

You told us you wanted a dedicated area on our website, and we agreed that was a great idea. To be able to provide insight and educational content is invaluable. It’s yet another way for us to demystify the world of pensions and help you, and your adviser, feel more connected to the work we are doing on your behalf.

As well as adding the new Knowledge area, we've redesigned our home page menus for easier navigation.

 

 

Don’t leave it to the last day, get those end of tax year decisions sorted, without delay!

As we move into the last section of winter, the recent flooding is a reminder that it is easy for your tax planning to get washed away due to a lack of planning or activity. The end of the current tax year is now less than nine weeks away and it really is time to think about using up your tax allowances.

It’s easy to forget sometimes what a tax efficient vehicle a pension policy can be. This is especially true if you are a higher rate or additional rate taxpayer. The recent announcement that the UK Government is continuing the freeze on personal allowances will result in increasing numbers of people being dragged into the 40% or 45% income tax brackets over the coming years.

A sensible way of mitigating an increasing personal tax burden is to make a contribution to a pension. With the Government also announcing a cap on salary sacrifice contributions from 2029, it has never been more important to take advantage of this option, especially as we are into the season where companies announce lump sum bonuses for workers, some of which are likely to be substantial, but potentially eroded significantly by income tax deductions.

The end of the tax year is also the time where carry forward can be used to support substantial one-off lump contributions, using unused tax relief from the previous three tax years. Once the calendar ticks over to 6 April, any unused relief from the earliest of those three years is gone for good.

At the other end of the spectrum, you might be someone who is retired, but likely to move up a tax bracket and therefore looking to take a “one off” income drawdown payment before this change takes effect.

So, our message today is to be proactive and don’t miss out on using your valuable pension allowances. Please talk to your financial adviser now to ensure your request is submitted to your pension provider in good time! In other words, don’t dawdle, get your pension affairs into order!