As financial advisers, we will always recommend that you start preparing for retirement as early as you can. But if you are in your 40s or 50s and have only just started thinking about pension planning, then the rule of thumb is that something accrued is better than nothing. You still have time to secure your future. Below is a list of pointers, that will lead you to thinking clearly about what you want your retirement to look like, and how to get there:
– Review your finances
It is important to take a holistic and detailed look at every aspect of your current finances, such as your savings, investments and any current and old workplace pensions you may have in place. If you have a surplus at the end of each month, you can add some more into your Pension. Having a true picture of your starting point puts you in a better position to devise a realistic strategy and set attainable goals.
– Define your objectives
Your retirement plan will depend partly on what you want from later life. So work out if you would like to spend more time with your family, or travel the world, or indulge in passions or pursue new hobbies. Each of these comes with a different monetary price tag, and if you have a good idea of exactly what type of lifestyle you envisage, you can create a financial strategy with that firmly in mind.
– Check you have a workplace pension
If you are currently working, make sure you are enrolled in your workplace pension scheme and receiving employee contributions.
– Track down lost pensions
If you have had other jobs in the past, you may have been auto-enrolled into multiple workplace pensions. As you move from one role to the next, it can be easy to overlook them, so it is well worth tracking them down and perhaps consolidating this money into a single scheme.
– Contribute as much as you can
If you have a workplace pension and have recently set up a private scheme, then save as much as you can. Even if you are starting to save relatively late in life, you can still benefit from a healthy degree of compound interest to bolster your retirement income.
– Cut unnecessary expenses
Since you have a relatively short time to save for the future, you might need to make big decisions about what you do with your money. This could include identifying unnecessary expenses that you could cut in order to free up the cash for your retirement savings.
– Downsize your property
It may be that your home is larger than you need, perhaps because your children have grown up and left home. In that case, it could be well worth selling and moving to a smaller, more suitable property. Any money left over from the sale could be put towards your retirement savings. Moving to a smaller property may also reduce your monthly outgoings, from home insurance to utility bills, allowing you to put a bit more aside for the future. It could also increase the amount of free time that you have, as there will be less to clean and maintain.
– Repay high-interest debts
Getting on top of your debts and prioritising high-interest repayments is a good idea at any time, but if you have not started saving early for retirement, this could be a particularly effective way to free up cash that could help you fund your future.
– Delay your retirement date
If you are late to pension saving, then staying in full-time work for longer could be a good way to bolster your retirement income. The longer you can keep earning an income, the more you can increase your savings and delay having to draw from your retirement pot.
– Revise your investment strategy
Updating your investment strategy could be an option worth exploring in order to generate income for your retirement, although you should be careful about the level of risk you are willing to face in order to catch up. With that in mind, it is a good idea to work alongside an expert financial adviser if you choose to dabble with different investments. They will help you create an investment strategy and offer professional advice that’s in your best interests.
Planning for retirement can be daunting for anybody, regardless of age, but if you have missed out on the valuable early years of saving for later life, you may feel particularly overwhelmed. Help is at hand. Get in touch with our team of expert financial planners and we will be happy to speak with you, so you can approach the future with confidence and peace of mind.
