Retirement is often seen as the end of a chapter, the end of your working life and to start enjoying your free time. Planning for retirement isn’t just about getting your funds organised, it’s about planning how you wish to spend your new-found freedom, exciting times.
Depending on your circumstances, you may want to take the opportunity to change your lifestyle completely, move home, start a new business or travel the world. And like all big projects, the more time you can plan and think it through, the better the outcome could be.
Managing Your Money
Getting financial planning advice before accessing your pension pot can go a long way to help alleviate financial worries later. With life span’s increasing, more people than ever will spend longer in retirement than previous generations.
The changes in legislation have given those about to retire far greater freedom when it comes to using their pension pot, but freedom brings with it greater individual responsibility.
It is agreed that spending in retirement tends to follow a u-shaped curve. People often spend more money in the early, more active years of their retirement, spending decreasing in the middle years and increasing again later if life with medical expenses more likely to be required.
Budgeting For Your Lifestyle
It makes sense to begin drawing up a budget for your retirement that covers your possible income needs. There are several factors to consider. You may have income from employment; equally you could choose to give up work altogether and tick off the items on your bucket list. You may decide to downsize from a family home to a smaller retirement apartment that is cheaper to run and means you can extract some equity to bolster your income.
You may want to help children or grandchildren financially by paying for school fees or helping them with a deposit for a home of their own. You will also have to plan for a time when you might need to pay for help around the house, and for the likelihood of needing medical and nursing care in your later years.
To take professional advice and create a roadmap for your financial future, please call 0808 164 2664
