Are you saving enough for your retirement?
While the recent economic downturn has hit many people in the UK there are concerns that it has exposed a lack of preparation for the future and for retirement. It is believed that almost half of those over 55 do not have any monthly savings plans in place and indeed 20% are estimated to owe at least £75,000 on their mortgages.
The very fact that the situation for those over 55, and struggling to put money aside, will have worsened over the last two years is another major concern and will ultimately impact on their standard of living upon retirement. There are growing concerns about the lack of planning for many approaching retirement with pension pots having fallen by over 50% over the last decade and annuity rates under pressure. So is it too late to put money aside today?
While it is never too late to start saving for the future, for those approaching retirement the benefits of putting money aside for tomorrow will be less than for those who start saving at an earlier age. While many of us automatically assume that the state will assist us in our later years the truth is that the real value of the state pension is likely to fall in the future and the push towards personal pensions and personal financial planning continues.
Share this..
Related stories
Sir Fred Goodwin retires on £650,000 a year
There has been dismay in the Houses of Parliament at the revelation that Sir Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, is already drawing his £650,000 a year pension despite the fact he is only 50 years old. This pension payment is funded by a £16 million pension pot which has been regulated during his time in the banking industry. While the Labour government has vowed...
Read MoreUK government to introduce pension fund changes
The UK government is set to introduce changes to the UK pension fund system which could severely impact the value of final salary pension schemes in the UK. Only hours after BP chief executive Tony Hayward left the group with a rumoured £600,000 a year pension the government is set to reduce the maximum amount which can be sheltered in a pension scheme in any one year. Apparently the government i...
Read MoreStakeholder pensions and personal pensions
Stakeholder pensions are a low cost, flexible and secure option for people who haven’t set up a pension arrangement yet. The government introduced them in 2001 to encourage people to save for their retirement. Should I take out stakeholder pension? They are available to most employed people, as well as those who are not employed but can still afford to make contributions, su...
Read MoreWhy do you need a pension?
More and more each year we seem to be hearing about the need to start your own private pension plan, to put money aside for your older years and basically ensure that you have enough money to look after yourself if later years. But do you really need a private pension? What is wrong with the state pension?
As we have covered in a number of articles recently the real value of the st...
Will the unions sit back and let David Cameron amend public sector pension schemes?
The BBC has today announced plans to close its final salary pension scheme to new entrants and also limit pensionable salary increases to no more than 1% a year. This is the first major public sector operation to announce such a move and many believe that David Cameron will use this as a launchpad to attack public sector pensions which have built up massive deficits which UK taxpayers will need to...
Read More