Thinking about your retirement isn’t just something you need to do a few years before you reach the age of retirement. It’s something that all of us can plan ahead for, regardless of age, in order to make our future finances work for us. Here’s our guide to planning for your own retirement.

Work out the income you think you’ll need in retirement

Take some time to sit down and calculate how much you think you’d need to retire comfortably. This can be cross-referenced with the amount you’re actually expected to receive, giving you a better idea of what steps to take next in order to improve that amount.

Assess your current savings and options

Considering your own retirement funds helps to give you more clarity when it comes to your other savings and investments. For example, are you with the best bank with the right savings plans to suit your retirement? Are you looking to transfer an ISA in order to get the best possible deal for your needs? You can transfer to Wealthify without it affecting your current ISA allowance at all.

Ask yourself some important questions

Planning for the future and ensuring your retirement plan stays on track can sometimes mean asking some difficult questions. Do you have other dependents who eat into your monthly outgoings? Are there certain luxuries you’re currently paying for that need to be stopped? Would the amount you’re expecting to receive last you for the next 20 years or so? Will the income you’re expecting be reduced after tax? If so, is it still a liveable amount for you? The sooner these are confronted, the sooner you can have answers to work around.

Do you have debts you’ll need to continue paying?

For most people, retirement means a potential drop in overall income for the rest of your life. For this reason alone, it’s vital that you try and enter retirement completely debt-free. Having specific monthly repayments that eat into your pension or savings can be tricky, so look at calculating how much is left on your mortgage or loans and consider paying it off before you officially retire. Find out more about debt relief and condsolidation.

Do you have plans to budget a little tighter just before you retire?

When you’re getting closer to your retirement age, it’s only natural to want to make sure the amount you have available is what you’d hoped for, if not more. And to achieve financial success in retirement, sometimes this means looking at ways to earn more or tighten your budget to pay more money into it. Some people even prefer to put back the dates they had in place to access their retirement funds and work for a few more years to help boost their pension funds.

Final thoughts

Whether you’re a few years from retirement or decades away from worrying about such things, the future can come at you quickly. If you can put the right steps in place today, you can ensure that your future is more financially stable. Once you’ve done this, it’s just a matter of moving forward in life, safe in the knowledge that you’ve helped to create some more stability in your elder years.