…and that’s what we all want, isn’t it? To retire happy in the knowledge that we have done all we can to put ourselves in the best position to enjoy life post-work. It seems obvious, but so many people fail to have a plan. Time goes by and before you know it, you’re excited to be retiring, but slightly overwhelmed at what to do with yourself. Even if you have an idea how you would like to spend your free time, you may have been so busy wrapped up in work and life that you haven’t planned adequately for it.
That’s why we are so passionate about lifestyle financial planning and ensuring that our clients know what they would like to do with their future. Once they have their plan, we can offer the most suitable retirement advice to ensure that their finances enable them to then go and fulfil it.
WHAT MAKES FINANCIAL ADVICE FOR RETIREMENT DIFFERENT FROM GENERAL FINANCIAL ADVICE?
The key factor here is your pension. Presuming you have been saving into a pension pot throughout your working life and have not accessed it early, now is the time when you will be looking to extract your savings. The likelihood is that you were used to receiving a set figure each month as a salary but depending on how your pension has been set up, you might now be paid differently.
INCOME BASED ON SALARY PENSIONS
If you are still to receive a monthly income, you should review that potentially new figure and how it relates to what you will need to survive and what you have left over to enjoy. Some costs will naturally decrease during retirement – commuting to work, work-related clothing expenses, etc., but you may find that the surplus isn’t going to stretch as far as you hoped – if you have plans to travel abroad, for example.
LUMP SUM PENSIONS
A lump sum sounds great! It enables you to do what you would like instantly, but you still need to consider when this will run out and what will happen then. We are all living longer, but that aside, life is unpredictable and there are things we cannot plan for – children and grandchildren, illness, unplanned relocations. It’s not all bad of course and some of the unplanned events could involve travel, weddings or celebrations. This all requires money though, which is why it’s important to continually review your lifestyle financial plan, consider the ‘what if?’ factors and adapt your plan as necessary.
Ultimately, we want you to enjoy your retirement. Our role is to help you determine what a happy retirement would like to you and then to explore your finances to put you in the best possible position to achieve it. We offer retirement advice to clients predominantly across West Sussex, Surrey and London but please get in touch wherever you are based – we are always happy to help you plan for a happy future.
This article does not constitute financial advice and should not be construed as such.