Retirement is something that many of us look forward to during our working lives. It’s a time when you are able to focus on enjoying travel, family life and more restful activities like rambling and gardening. However, retirement also represents a change in financial circumstances, and it’s important to be prepared to manage your money in a different way. It’s very likely that your income and patterns of spending will alter when you retire and you will need to adopt a new approach when it comes to your financial management,
The Importance of Being Prepared
You don’t need to wait until retirement to improve your chances of being financially comfortable in later life. You can estimate the changes to your monetary situation in advance, and prepare to handle them. Start by drawing up a budget of your expected income and spending as early as possible. This will allow you to feel more in control of the situation, and the budget can always be revised at a later date. If the budget shows a gap between your spending and income, you may need to reassess your financial situation and look for ways to boost your income or reduce the amount being spent.
Boosting Your Pension
If you haven’t yet retired, you may have the opportunity to increase your pension by deferring the date at which you begin to receive your pension income. You can also increase the value of your pension contributions by as much as you can afford. Some employers will partly or fully match your extra contributions, making this an attractive option for some candidates.
Increasing Your Retirement Income
Savvy financial planners will know that there are plenty of ways for retirees to boost their incomes. If you have savings or current investments, you should consider making them work harder for you. You may wish to contact a professional wealth planning service like James Hay, in order to discuss how to best invest your assets. These services endeavour to produce the biggest possible return on your investments, and manage risk at a level that you’re comfortable with. During retirement it’s also important to keep your assets safe, so you may want to consider medium-risk investments that guarantee a regular return. You should also consider the level of liquidity you will require from investments. Some investments are more difficult to turn back into cash that can easily be withdrawn, should you so require this. The liquidity and level of risk should be kept in mind when you reassess your investment portfolio to reflect your needs in retirement.