After twenty five years most of us have paid off our homes, our children have flown the nest and they now have families of their own and we find ourselves approaching middle age and retirement. As our children have left home we have more disposable income and we are in a better position to start saving money for our impending retirement. You should consider talking to a Pension expert for some sound advice that is relevant to your circumstances – after all it’s your retirement you should be planning for.

Plan your Retirement!

In most cases our pension funds will not support us to the standard of living we have become accustomed to and it’s possible that we may be retiring from work for up to thirty years before we die. Countless people will find themselves continuing to work into their seventies in order to survive and maintain their standard of living.. Some fortunate people will retire on a full and final salary scheme from their employers at the end of their working lives. Many full and final pension schemes are now closing due to the cost of maintaining them. Statistics suggest that on average we are all living longer until our mid-seventies and eighties.

There is a large section of the population who do not have adequate pension provisions in the way of a company, works or a private pension to provide for their retirement. They will be dependent on the state pension which is currently £95.25 per week for support. They may be entitled to the additional State Pension called SERPS or known as the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme.

The government also offers various kinds of further financial support, some are income related, and some are not. Like Pension credits which will guarantee a minimum weekly income of £130 if you are single and £198.45 if you have a partner. You may also be entitled to other income related benefits like Council Tax Benefits, Housing Benefits, Cold Weather Payments, help with Funeral costs and help with Health costs. The state pension will not provide us with the type of retirement many of us had planned for, although it does provide us with a minimum standard of living and support.

It is important that we start planning for our retirement in our twenties; although this is a hard thing to consider as we all see ourselves living and working for ever. Back in 1980′s everybody you met was a pension adviser, yet today you have to actively seek out a pension specialist.

Recently Equity Release Schemes have become very popular amongst homeowners who have found themselves to be equity rich but income poor. In other words they have homes that are worth a lot of money but have a little income or money to live on each month.  Most homeowners have seen their homes more than double in the last twenty years and believe that it may be worth releasing some money from their homes through an ‘Equity Release Mortgage‘.

Don’t wait until it is too late to consider your retirement requirements start thinking about it sooner rather than later. We will all be retired for a long time and it will be at a time when we may not be able to work due to old age and illness.

Your thoughts, experiences and comments are welcome. You can join the discussion below and leave your thoughts and experiences

Related posts:

1. 11 Money Saving Tips to surviving the Credit Crunch | Money Saving Advice
2. Ten Deadly Sins of Christmas | Money Saving Tips
3. 2 for 1 Cinema Tickets Every Wednesday | Money Expert
4. Money Saving Advice | Sixteen ways to save money on your Gas and Electricity bills
5. The more the Government spends the shorter the recession – Money Expert

Tags: additional state pension, earnings related pension, equity release, Equity Release Mortgage, Equity Release Schemes, minimum weekly income, money expert, retirement, saving enough money for your retirement is becoming a nightmare money saving expert, state pension

This entry was posted on June 6, 2009 at 6:45 am and is filed under Advice and Information, Consumer Help, Consumer Solutions, Pension. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.