Over the past year, many of us have felt the squeeze on our finances caused by the cost-of-living increases. If you’ve been worried that saving for your future might be leaving you short of money in the present, this episode is for you. Kicking off the series, Kerrie Cureton-Williams, Deputy Director of Civil Service & Royal Mail Pensions in the Cabinet Office and Thomas Lynas, Money Advice Supervisor at the Charity for Civil Servants, chat to Rob and Emily about the cost-of-living. We dive into what we mean by ‘the cost-of-living’, and what’s happening to cause the increases we’ve been seeing over the last 12 months. Kerrie reminds us of some of the benefits of staying in the scheme, including the generous employer contributions, the ability to partially retire and the benefits for your loved ones in case the unthinkable happens. There’s also built-in flexibility within the Civil Service Pension arrangements in the form of the partnership pension account. Partnership is a defined contribution scheme which can give you more flexibility over your contributions – you can even stop contributing for a while, if you need a break – and your employer will still contribute on your behalf. We also talk about ways that members can make sure that saving for tomorrow doesn’t leave them short of money today, and Thomas shares some money-saving tips to help keep costs down. Finally, we talk about where members can find out more, including free tools, resources and guidance available from MoneyHelper and PensionWise. Find out more about your civil service pension at civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk Useful links: Benefit calculators Benefits for your loved ones Partnership pension account Partial retirement MoneyHelper PensionWise Charity for Civil Servants See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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