With the greater options advisers now also have to consider whether it is retirement income that a client wants out of their pension pot. Clients could start to view their pension as a sticking plaster for debt, or a nice nest egg to pass on to their nearest and dearest.

With the greater pension freedoms offered since 6 April, advisers must now weigh up traditional retirement income sources against new options trying to get their client’s attention.

Careful consideration must be given to taxation of different ways of accessing pension pots and whether freeing yourself of monthly outgoings is the way forward rather than trying to increase the size of your savings.

This guide will explore the various ways to boost your pension, weigh up the pros and cons of pulling out cash to pay off debt, discuss the risks and rewards of pension transfers and explore the impact the tax treatment of various options should have on your recommendations.

Our experts are also asked what can be done to make sure the advice you give to your client’s today on ways to boost retirement pots does not come back to haunt you in the future.

Supporting material was provided by: Billy Burrows, director of Retirement Intelligence; Rod McKie, head of retirement propositions at Zurich Life; Richard Priestley, executive director individual onshore at Canada Life; Claire Trott, head of technical support at Talbot & Muir; David Trenner, technical director of Glasgow-based IFA Intelligent Pensions; Jamie Jenkins, head of pensions strategy at Standard Life; James McLeod, head of pensions at AES International; and Alistair McQueen, head of policy and compliance business protection at Aviva.

This guide is sponsored by Aviva. All editorial is independent.