Are you looking at ways to make the most of your retirement? Whether you’re approaching retirement age or whether you’re currently in retirement, there are things you can do to make the most of it. From taking care of financial planning to activities you can enjoy; your retirement should be the time of your life. The tips and ideas below will help you to ensure you enjoy retirement to the max.
Sorting out your finances
Financial planning is one of the most important things you need to do to ensure you can live comfortably throughout your retirement. Ideally you will save as much as you possibly can towards your retirement fund before you reach retirement age. The earlier you can start saving the more comfortable you will be.
You need to think about how much you need to live comfortably. Take into account the lifestyle you hope to lead as well as the cost of living. This Is Money has an excellent pension’s calculator you can use to work out how much you need.
You need to decide whether you want to place your savings into an actual pension account or whether you’d prefer to put the money into a savings account. There are pros and cons to each option. With specialised pension savings accounts there’s always a risk you could lose some of the money you put away. This is because the money is invested and there’s always a risk the investment could lose money rather than gain it. If you’re unsure which option would be best for you, MoneySavingsExpert has a great guide you can check out.
Understanding what you’re entitled to
Did you know that you might be entitled to certain benefits? Pension credits are used to top up your state pension. Not everybody has the opportunity to save a lot of money towards their retirement. You may also be entitled to winter fuel payments. Keeping the home warm in winter can cost a fortune and you tend to feel the cold more as you age. So winter fuel payments could prove to be really useful.
It’s always worth looking into the benefits you might be entitled to. You can find out both online or from your local council.
Activities you can enjoy
One thing you might be worried about when planning your retirement is keeping yourself busy. This is an ideal time to take up a new hobby. It’s not all about gardening and knitting; you can be as active or as inactive as you like. There’s bound to be groups you can join in your local area.
Overall planning for retirement helps you to save up for the lifestyle you want to enjoy. The earlier you start to plan, the more comfortable you will be. Why not make use of the pension calculator to see exactly how much you’d need? There’s plenty of advice available online and you could even join a forum to get advice from other seniors. Start planning today to make the most of your retirement.
