Fifty Plus

How to make sure you live the retirement you promised yourself

If you planned it right, your pension nest egg will be well on its way to hitting its target maturity, your mortgage will either be paid off already or rapidly winding down and your children on their way, if not yet totally financially independent.

Unfortunately if you have not planned sufficiently you could be facing retirement with an income deficit. If you only have the state pension to rely on it is still not too late but your contributions will need to be quite large to compensate for earlier inactivity over the short time remaining.

Even if you have a pension have you checked that it will deliver the standard of living that you aspire to? It’s better to be safe than sorry as it will be far too late when you reach your designated retirement age. To make the best of your situation See Retirement Planning

You also shouldn’t neglect investments, particularly tax efficient ones like ISAs, which allow you to invest up to £7,200 a year in stocks and shares or a combination of cash and stocks and shares, preferably within a collective fund. For more information See Investment

You may be tempted to draw your pension from the company to which you contributed. That in all likelihood would be a massive mistake. Different companies pay different pension incomes on the same pension fund values. 

Over a lifetime, the difference between the best and worst amounts to a small fortune. Once you decide it is fixed for life.

Alternatively you could access the tax-free lump sum and just draw an income while allowing your fund to continue growing. You could obtain a higher pension because of below average health.

To ensure you make the right choice  See Options at Retirement