The phrase ‘Independent Financial Adviser’ has a particular meaning that’s set out in the rules that financial advisers have to follow. To be called independent, a financial adviser must be able to offer a broad range of retail investment products and give consumers unbiased and unrestricted advice based on a comprehensive and fair analysis of the market. A financial adviser that is not independent can be called ‘restricted’ if they only recommend certain types of investment products or products from a limited number of providers.

A financial adviser must tell you how much they charge before you’re taken on as a client (it’s part of the rules that all advisers have to abide by). Some might charge per hour, others might charge a fixed fee or a percentage (typically 3-4.5%) of the value of your pension pot.

Pay off the debt unless you have any risk to future borrowing. Unless you know of risks to your creditworthiness, pay it off. Hope that helps.

You could instead delay taking some of your pension. For example, you might be able to arrange to retire gradually, or change to working part-time or flexibly and then draw part of your pension. If you want your pot to remain invested after the age of 75, you’ll need to check with your pension scheme or provider that they will allow this.