5 Retirement Planning Tips

Have you thought about what your desired retirement looks like? Whether it is minimal, moderate or comfortable, it’s never too soon to start thinking about the retirement you want.

Tip 1: Picture your lifestyle in retirement

Things to consider:

• When would I like to retire?

• Do you plan to stop completely or gradually move into retirement (maybe by doing part-time work)?

• What does a good lifestyle in retirement look like?

• How might my spending habits change when I retire?

In our experience at Bosworth Wealth Management, these are some of the hardest questions for clients to give a detailed answer. We think Retirement Living Standards are doing really great things. They want to help savers think in a practical way about the kind of lifestyle they might lead in retirement. We recommend you check it out.

 Tip 2: Gather details of your pensions and investments

Get details on your state pension entitlement. You can find out how much using the government’s State Pension checker.

You may have had different jobs over your working life, you may have several workplace schemes. You may also have a personal pension you set up yourself.

Our advisers at Bosworth Wealth Management can help in this area. With a signed authority form we can get up to date valuations on your existing plans.

If you plan to use savings, investments or property to finance your retirement, make sure you also take these into account.

If you have any old pension plans that you are unable to find details on, the Pension Tracing Service can help.

Tip 3: Forecast your retirement

So, you will have your State Pension and any workplace and personal pensions. Along with any other assets, you can use a pension calculator to forecast how much income you are likely to have in retirement. It can also show you what effect increasing your pension payments, changing your retirement age or changing the amount of tax-free cash you take has on your retirement income.

Pension Calculator from the Money and Pensions Service is simple to use and can give you an estimate of the income you’ll get when you retire based on various pensions.

Bosworth Wealth Management also has some great planning tools to help you think about how to reach your goals.

Tip 4: Retirement income boosted

If you’ve still got some way to go to get the retirement you want, there are things you can do.

For example, you could increase the amount you pay each month into your pension or pay in a lump sum if you get a bonus from work or come into some money. Remember that investment returns are never guaranteed. So, while your savings could grow, their value can also go down. You may wish to speak with a financial adviser before making any changes.

If you can’t afford to do those things right now, you could decide to do it next time you get a pay rise. It’s also worth reviewing your day-to-day money to see if you can find ways of freeing up some spare money to put towards your pension.

If you have gaps in your National Insurance (NI) record it means you may not qualify for the full State Pension. You may be able to fill those gaps by paying a voluntary contribution – use the government’s National Insurance record check to find out.

Tip 5: Need more guidance or advice?

Our most in demand service is pension analysis, our support is designed to guide you through the pension landscape. We will develop expert long-term strategies in line with you picture your retirement, aiming to make a positive difference to our clients.

There are also great organisations like The Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise also provide free impartial guidance to anyone with pension questions.