Retirement Planning
This is one of the most neglected areas of financial planning and one which is often ignored until part way through an individual’s career.
Most people would like to retire as early as possible with age 60 being a very common target age. With the Government proposing changes to retirement age until age 65 or even beyond, people will become more reliant on their own provisions to ensure their goals are realistic.
Rules surrounding this area are very strict and there are some major consequences if these are breached.
Many people are members of Superannuation schemes, personal pensions and Stakeholder pensions amongst other things. These plans will be the backbone of an individuals retirement planning, however, to ensure they are able to fulfil their goals, they often need to consider other types of planning.
Understanding the workings of each individual type of plan can be difficult in itself before considering if you would like to retire early or increase potential benefits. From final salary benefits of Superannuation and Added Years to annuity purchase of personal and Stakeholder plans.
As circumstances vary from one person to the next, there is no hard and fast rule as to what the best method is for maximising contributions.
You need to think long and hard about what you want to do with your retirement and what it is likely to cost. Do you still want to go on holiday? Change your car? Hobbies etc.
With more time on your hands than when you were working and people in general living longer it could be very costly in the future if you do not start planning for retirement now.