There’s no time too far in advance to start ensuring your savings and retirement plans are aligned. You may have a pretty good idea about the type of lifestyle you want in your retirement years, but do you have enough to pay for it?
Here are 5 steps to consider to get your retirement plan on track.
1. Think about your retirement plan
What age do you want to retire? Will you gradually reduce your working hours in the lead up to retirement? Do you qualify for a full state pension?
Do you plan to stay where you are in retirement or is a future move be on the cards? This may mean downsizing your property and releasing some capital for retirement or perhaps even moving abroad.What about travel plans, new hobbies, or plans with the family?
Having a good idea of what you would like retirement to look like, and when you would like it to start will assist with understanding whether you are on track.
2. Understand your options early
Pensions and retirement planning can be complex, so understanding your options and what will work best for your situation is important. Is a guaranteed income a priority or is flexibility key; or it may be a combination? Annuities are no longer the go-to pension product for the majority of retirees, therefore understanding drawdown and the many options that are available ahead of reaching retirement age will make the transition that much smoother.
3. Consider cashflow planning
Now that you have a better idea of the where’s and the when’s of retirement and perhaps have a better idea of what core and discretionary spends may be required at different stages of retirement; a cashflow plan will help to make this a reality. Your financial planner can work though different retirement scenarios with you to help highlight any potential shortfall, give comfort that the plan is on track or reassurance that retiring early is affordable.
4. Make sure your pensions are in the right place and in the right investment
The average person has 11 jobs throughout their lifetime; each of these could have meant a different pension. Do you know where your pension pots are and are they doing what they should be doing for you and your retirement goals? Tracking down any old pensions, fully reviewing them with your financial planner and consolidating where appropriate should be a priority. After reviewing the plans to ensure they are in the most appropriate pension(s), the next step is to make sure you are invested according to your risk appetite and in well-managed investments – don’t leave your old dormant schemes invested in poor performing funds!
5. Review your contributions
Now that you have the right plans in place and have a good idea of retirement income targets, you can take the next steps to meet your goals. For some individuals, maximising pension contributions should be the first step, utilising your annual allowance to benefit fully from tax relief is key. Also, check if you are able to carry forward any unused annual allowance. Once you have maximised any pension contributions other savings earmarked for retirement should be considered. Remember it is not just pension plans that can fund retirement, in fact they may often be the final pot you draw upon in retirement given the inheritance tax friendly nature of pension schemes.
Next steps
The right course of action for you will depend on your individual circumstances and objectives. Your financial planner can take you through each of these steps to ensure your retirement plans are on target and provide you the comfort of knowing your future plans are achievable. We work with our clients up to and throughout retirement to simplify the complicated, take the stress out of retirement planning and ensure you have the right investment strategy in place.
Please call the Poole office on 01202 974111 if you require advice or guidance in any area of financial planning and the team will be delighted to help.
WHIreland continues to expand its Poole wealth management services and appoints Sean O’Brien as Wealth Planner
WHIreland has appointed Sean O’Brien as Wealth Planner to its Poole office as part of continuing plans to grow its holistic, advice led wealth management offering to existing and new clients. Sean has over 13 years’ experience in financial services, specifically in the advice sector for the past 7 years within sales and managerial based roles.
Sean holds the Diploma in Financial Planning and is currently working towards chartered status.
Sean will be providing financial advice to existing and new clients of WHIreland in an increasingly complex financial landscape; helping them plan to achieve their financial goals. Commenting on his new role at WHIreland, Sean said: “Following the withdrawal of advice in a large majority of banks and building society’s in recent years, added to a significant reduction in the numbers of qualified Advisers registered in the UK it shouldn’t be surprising to see recent statistics that 43% of the public don’t know where to get Financial Advice. I believe it’s never been more important within an increasingly complicated financial landscape to have access to quality financial advice. I specialise in advice for individuals in all areas, whether for savings goals, growth of assets, retirement planning, protection of wealth or legacy planning. I look forward to providing financial planning here at the Poole branch and to increase our capacity to offer WHIreland’s services to more individuals.”
Announcing the appointment, Head of Wealth Planning at WHIreland, Christy Morrison, said: “Retirement and estate planning are key advice areas for our clients, therefore it’s vital we can offer tailored financial planning solutions to complement our discretionary investment services. We’re delighted to welcome Sean to the team as a dedicated, local wealth planner in our Poole office.”
CONTACT
t. 01202 974111
e. pooleoffice@whirelandwm.com
w. www.whirelandwm.com
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