When was the last time you gave a thought to your retirement? It seems so far away, there’s very little point worrying about it, right? Wrong! Failing to take your retirement planning seriously could lead to serious financial problems further down the line.
After all, your retirement is something you should be looking forward to and ensuring that you’re in the strongest financial position possible when the time comes, means you’ll get to enjoy it without worrying about your monetary situation. That means more holidays, time spent with your family, picking up new hobbies and enjoying this new stage of your life.
If you haven’t given much thought to your retirement, there’s never been a better time to start looking ahead. Read on for the mistakes to avoid when planning for your retirement.
Neglecting those workplace pensions
It’s highly unlikely that you’ve only had one job throughout your working life. In fact, the average person has around 12 different jobs throughout their lifetime. This means you could have workplace pension contributions sitting in accounts that you’ve long since forgotten about.
No one should miss out on the money they’ve set aside for retirement, and if your contributions are currently placed in poorly performing accounts then you’re missing out even more and might be at the mercy of hidden fees and charges. Check out Wealthify’s personal pension plan and consider transferring all your funds into one, easy to manage place. Your pension will be fully managed, and you’ll be in control of your further contributions. Click the link to get started!
You can put it off
Worryingly, many people believe that saving for their pension isn’t something they should consider until they’re nearing retirement age and sadly, this is a misconception that will bring a lot of regret further down the line! Building on your savings as early as possible means you’ll have more time to develop your retirement fund, which means you have more flexibility in terms of contribution amounts. Leave it until much later, you’ll have to pay in more to make up for lost time, something which you may not be able to afford.
Underestimating the cost of retirement
Retirement often conjures up images of older people, enjoying life. Spending their days with family and friends. And while this may be true for many, there’s a lot more to it than that. You’ll need enough money to cover all your basic living expenses and if you don’t have enough to cover this (the state pension alone probably won’t be enough) you may be forced back into work, or have to find another way to fund your retirement.
Consider how much you’re going to need to cover your retirement plans. Where will you live? Can you afford to continue living your current lifestyle? What about money for holidays and other plans? What if you fall ill and need care? There’s a lot to think about!
Final thoughts…
In reality, there’s never been a better time to start planning for your retirement, reach out to Wealthify now to start saving for your future.