As you think about the details of retirement planning, there are two big questions you need to ask:
- How much income will I need?
- How long will it need to last?
The answers aren't as simple as the questions, of course - but we can help you to get a clearer idea what your financial needs might be during your retirement, and how they could change over time. The more you know about this, the easier it will be to plan a realistic budget and make sure you don't overspend.
Crunch the numbers on your retirement income
Some more questions to think about
First of all, check how much you have already saved into your personal pension plan – or any other kind of savings or investment accounts which you’ll be using to help fund your retirement
- Can I afford to contribute more to my personal pension plan or work pension scheme?
- Are there any areas where I could be spending less?
To help you answer these questions, focus on your regular outgoings to see how much you could afford to put aside towards funding your retirement. You can do this by calculating the below:
What is your monthly take home pay after tax and National Insurance pension contributions and any other deductions?
Work out your essential monthly spending: | Work out your optional monthly spending |
Mortgage/rent payments | Eating out or takeaways |
Gas and electricity | Clothing and footwear |
Water | Holidays |
Food and groceries | Hobbies and recreation |
Council tax | Satellite TV subscription |
Phone and internet | Alcohol |
Travel – e.g. public transport | Cigarettes and tobacco |
Motoring – e.g. fuel, car maintenance, tax, MOT | Personal good and services e.g. make-up, medicine |
Credit cards and loans | Fees for children’s activities |
Insurance | Furniture, appliances and pet care |
Childcare | Other |
Calculate your ‘essentials’ total | Calculate your ‘optionals’ total |
Deduct your total monthly essential and optional spending from your monthly take home pay to calculate your remaining income
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The next stage is to consider how much your personal pension plan will be worth when you retire. This means asking yourself:
- Is it likely that I’ll be able to increase contributions to my personal pension plan in the future? And could I get more from my employer?
- How many more years will I be paying into my personal pension plan?
- Do I need to put any more money away?
How much will you have to live on?
Even if you’re close to retirement, and have a clear idea how much money is likely to be in your personal pension plan when you finish work, it’s sometimes hard to see how that figure might translate into a monthly income.
Your personal pension plan may run into thousands of pounds, but how long will this last, and how much can you afford to spend each month?
How long will your money need to last?
This will depend on how long you will be retired.
Many people underestimate their life expectancy, and run the risk of running out of money in their later years, or having to live on a smaller amount than they intended.
It’s never too early to prepare for retirement. The earlier you start thinking about what kind of retirement you want and where your money is going to come from, the more control you can have over that period of your life.
