Get fit for your financial future

Welshpool residents are invited to learn more about pensions and retirement planning from experts at a local building society.

The West Brom on Severn Street is running a pension clinic on Friday where customers can discuss their current situation with an independent financial adviser.

Shaine Jones (pictured), the West Brom’s retail manager, said: “Pensions are a popular way of saving for retirement, but understanding how they work is a complicated business. Seeking help from a qualified expert could hold the key to successful financial planning for later life, which is why we are organising clinics throughout our branch network during October.”

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 the Welshpool pension clinic 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.

In a recent survey of its customers, 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’.