Pensions are in the headlines for the wrong reasons at the moment and this can add additional anxiety to anyone who is in the dark when it comes to their pension forecast during retirement age.
Most people who retire want to use the extra leisure time they have on their hobbies, traveling or just taking life at a steady pace after all the years of work.
To make your retirement as stress-free as possible you should plan ahead as much as possible so you know generally how your pension plan is performing so that when it comes to retirement you don’t have any surprises. Although there is never a 100% guarantee, due diligence prior to retirement can put you on a more confident footing when it comes to your retirement.
How can I calculate what I’ll need in retirement?
Most people will have more disposable income as the older they get. This is primarily down to the two biggest outgoings throughout life. Your mortage payments, which should decrease over the term of your mortgage and the second biggest expense is bringing up your children. Once your children have left the nest then all the money you have forked out over the years is now disposable income.
To work out how much you will have, you should start with calculating your state pension. The Government have placed more emphasis on pensions over the last couple of years and have now made it even easier to find out your state pension forecast. To check your state pension simply click the link below and follow the instructions and validate your id and you will find out your state pension forecast.
https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension
In addition to your state pension, you may also have a private pension, ISAs and savings. All of these should be taken into consideration for your retirement and factored into the retirement lifestyle you would like to lead based on your forecast disposable income.
Once you have a sense of your desired level of outgoings and your likely income, you can get a good sense of whether you’re on track, or need to start saving more to make up the shortfall.
