The retirement phase is one of the most important as well as the most beautiful phases in any individual’s life. There are a whole host of things to bear in mind before, during, and after retirement takes place – unsurprisingly, given the importance of the life event. If you want to secure your future and enjoy your autumn years, there are pitfalls to dodge and opportunities to jump upon.
Know More on Pre-retirement Planning Essentials
Do’s of Retirement Planning
Your Homework: Being in the know is key to practically everything in life, and the same goes for retirement. If you understand the ins and outs of the pension market, your options, and so on, then your pension outlook will almost certainly see improvements. You’re going to have to learn about it sometime- start now!
Prepare Socially: When we retire, our entire life changes. After decades in a working environment, suddenly we’re thrust out into a world of free time and leisure, while for some this is bliss, for others, it’s very discomforting.
Ensure that you don’t get caught off guard by the social and life-changing effects of retirement, be sure to have a variety of activities lined up to replace the things you’re going to lose when you leave work. Think through all of the things that employment gives you, then see how these can be replaced – volunteering, hobbies, part-time work, and other fulfilling activities.
Invest Smartly: If you choose to self-invest, the investments made with your pension fund matter. As a general rule of thumb, steer clear of investments that combine low reward with high risk, and if you’re older, try and minimize your exposure to risk more generally.
Be aware of ‘investment gurus’, don’t use your cash to speculate – you’ll most likely lose money – and keep an eye on the costs involved with investing, especially if you’re with a retirement plan.
Get Financial Advice: We strongly recommend you seek the advice of a professional adviser. Even if you consider yourself a savvy investor, it could pay dividends to get a second opinion. The world of retirement income can be a complicated one. A trusted, experienced adviser can help you choose the right products to maximize your income.
Think about Your Earning Extra: Other streams of revenue will really help you out during retirement, so it pays to think about developing a few. This could mean working part-time, renting out part of your current home or a second, or putting money in investments such as ISA’s.
Don’ts of Retirement Planning
Leave it Too Late: The biggest concern for any person who plans on retiring, never mind over 55s, is to ensure that enough money is contained within their pension pot. Too many people can be caught out with a serious lack of retirement income later in life, simply because they didn’t save enough money early on their career.
Spend your Income too Quickly: If you have a drawdown pension, this point is especially important, as, without sound planning, you may run out of money before you plan anything else.
Put all your eggs in one Basket: If you have a variety of different pensions, it may be a good idea to combine them into a single one, making access to all your money much more straight forward and manageable. However, you should consider the outcome of putting all your money into adventurous funds – if disaster befalls you’ll have no fall back to rely on. It could be a better idea to spread the risk by investing in different types of funds.
Pensions are complicated, but there’s a certain knack to ensuring they work for your future. Don’t take too many risks, learn about them, and plan as much as possible.
