55+ Planning for Retirement

You’re almost there! If you’ve followed all the steps, your retirement should be looking very rosy by now. Finalise your pension options with your financial advisor, who will help you choose the best annuity for your needs. It’s time to start thinking of ideas for hobbies!

Make sure your savings are in the right portfolio so that you don’t lose out at this late stage. And try to have your home paid off before you finish working, so that you won’t have that financial burden when you are on pension.

Now more than ever, it’s so important to keep your beneficiary nominations up to date. If your circumstances change at any point, so too should you update your list of beneficiaries. The Trustees of your Fund have to make sure by law that all your financial dependants are first taken care of, and listing them on your form makes this process easier and quicker for everyone involved.

It’s time to start de-risking your investments, which will take place automatically if you are invested in the Life Stage model. However, it’s also important to choose now whether you will be taking a Life Annuity or a Living Annuity when you retire, as this decision will affect how your investments ought to be structured. As always, reliable financial advice is crucial – now more than ever.

Be sure to check the value of your savings and to contribute more if you aren’t where you would like to be. There aren’t many years left – be safe rather than sorry, for the sake of your future happiness. It will be so worthwhile, even if it means cutting out a few luxuries now. After all, you’ve been working all your life towards this goal, and you deserve the best possible pension when you finally put your feet up.

Is your house paid off? Are you sufficiently covered in the event of your disability? Once again, it’s probably time for a chat with your financial advisor. If you’ve been seeing him or her regularly, you should be well on your way to reaching those goals you set for yourself all those years ago.