Do You Have Enough To Retire On?

We all dream of the days when we have finished work and can kick back and relax. However, many of us may not be as prepared as we think and perhaps the time is right to check up on our retirement potential.

Most people will be relying on a State pension. You are entitled to this if you have built up enough ‘qualifying years’. A qualifying year is one in which you have sufficient income to pay National Insurance Contributions. However many of us also have other schemes including company pensions and  savings such as ISAs.

The future can be a very difficult thing to predict, but when it comes to a pension there are a few key things you may wish to do to make sure it is on track.

When carrying out this task, it important to be realistic and take all factors into consideration.

First of all, it can be important to perform an audit on all previous payments that have been made.

Work out what the payout would be if the deposits were continued at the same rate. This is to find out if this sum is sufficient for you to live on.

It can also be useful to try and decide what you would like your standard of living to be like in old age. To maintain your current level, you may need to start adding more to the pot each month.

If you don’t think you can afford to increase your payments there are a few other options which could be planned for – such as remortgaging or working past retirement age.

If no pension has been started yet (aside from a state pension saved through national insurance contributions) it may be worth considering doing so, especially if you are in your thirties or even twenties. You can find many deals for contributory pensions on the internet and it is worth talking to an independent financial adviser to make sure you get the pension that is right for your individual circumstances.

If you would like to know more about pensions why not ask AnswerBank Business and Finance.