I have spoken to so many people recently who are concerned about whether or not they are saving enough into their pension scheme.  There is no doubt that pensions sound complicated and this puts many people off finding out what kind of income they will have in retirement.

Do you have a nagging feeling that you should be finding out whether your pension benefits will be enough to support you in your retirement years? Are you one of the many people who, when faced with the pension jargon, simply get confused, so give up and do nothing?

Could that be a problem?

Yes, of course, it could.  Royal London, the pension’s provider, has recently published research suggesting that in order to have the same standard of living as our parents, working-age people today would need to postpone their retirement until the age of 81! I certainly don’t relish that prospect and I am sure most people will not be keen (or able!) to work until their early 80s. 

We really need to start taking action on our retirement pension now, regardless of our age.

In the UK, we are fortunate enough to have a state pension, but changes to this have already been made, with the age for both men and women being gradually raised to 66 by 2020, and to 68 by 2046.  

In 2020 the new full State Pension will be just over £9000 per year, for those with over 35 years of National Insurance contributions. This amount will decrease for those with fewer years of contributions and those who have less than 10 years of contributions will not be eligible for a state pension at all.

It is obvious that, for many people, this amount will not provide them with the retirement lifestyle that they would like.  If you are one of these people, then you really need to consider whether or not you have saved enough to supplement this and allow for a comfortable retirement.

“OK, but where should I start?”

(Helpful links for each area follow the infographic below)

LINKS:

Simple guide to pensions from Money Saving Expert

Money Saving Advice's income options in retirement

How to get a state pension statement

Money Advice Service’s pension calculator Although the calculator is not a precise science, taking the above actions will at least give you an idea of the income that you might have in retirement.  Once you have done this, you can then make informed decisions based on these figures.  That's another post for another day! 

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I hope that this has helped you work out whether or not your pension is going to be able to support your retirement plans. 

If you found this post useful then please share it with any friends who might also benefit from it.

Feel free to join my private Your Money Sorted group where you can ask questions and get some extra tips and suggestions for saving money.

Eileen x

I am Eileen Adamson, Your Money, Sorted coach, working online with UK based women, helping them to develop a better relationship with money.  By gaining an understanding of how their personality affects the decisions they make, I can help them to implement changes which will allow them to feel calm, positive and confident that they are in control and making good financial decisions.  I can then support them to put into place simple strategies that will allow them to manage their finances effectively on a daily basis and create a stable, secure and exciting future for themselves.