Standard Life enhanced its mixed income builder tool to deliver more personalised retirement planning to its workplace pension savers.
This tool is designed to allow customer to create a personalised retirement plan across DC, DB and state pension savings, helping customers balance longer-term financial security with a degree of flexibility in their finances.
This plan is based on current pension value and contribution levels. It is available to workplace and individual pension customers ahed between 50 and 75 through Standard Life’s dashboard and mobile app.
The updated version will now integrate directly with customers’ pension details, so they do not have to manually input data.
It will also allow customers to set a personalised ‘essential’ income target, supported by an integrated budgeting tool. This will sit alongside the standard Pensions UK retirement living standards.
Customers can now also explore retiring at different ages, including before their state pension age, and model how drawdown could be used to bridge the gap before this guaranteed income begins. Illustrations show the level of regular income their savings might support, and how long this could be expected to last.
Through mixed income builder, customers can see how different sources of retirement income could work together, including the state pension, defined benefit (DB) pensions, annuities and drawdown.
Standard Life says the tool has been designed to present the results in a clear, easy‑to‑understand format, with the option to download a personalised summary.
The launch comes as Standard Life’s Retirement Voice report shows that 89 per cent of people want a guaranteed income in retirement. At the same time, 79 per cent want the flexibility to access their pension savings as their needs change over time, underlining continued demand for solutions that offer both security and choice.
Standard Life head of retirement proposition Esther Hawley says: “Planning a retirement income can feel daunting because people often want two things at once – the reassurance of a secure, guaranteed income and the freedom to stay flexible. Mixed income builder is designed to make those decisions easier, helping people understand what they may need to cover their essentials for life, and how a blend of guaranteed and flexible income could support the retirement they want.
“By launching mixed income builder directly within our customer dashboard and mobile app, we’re making retirement planning more seamless and personal. Automatically pulling through pension details means customers can focus on exploring their options with greater confidence.”
