When planning for your retirement there are 3 broad steps to understanding what you need to do to achieve the lifestyle you want. Firstly, understand what kind of lifestyle you want in retirement, together with what this might potentially cost. Secondly, understand what provisions you have in place at the moment. Focussing on these two steps allows you to look at the third part of the process, calculating the shortfall and putting a plan in place to ensure you are able to achieve this.
Whilst I could talk about each part of this process in depth I want to share with you a tip today which will provide you with a more accurate figure when working out you have for your retirement at the minute, therefore making the numbers you are working with in the third part of the process more realistic.
When initially working with new clients we talk through their current provisions in depth. This might include income from private pensions, investments or property. However one of the areas which many individuals don't take into account is the pension income they receive from the state. So, my tip for today is understand what you're entitled to in retirement from the state. It's highly unlikely that the state pension on it's own will be enough to live the lifestyle you're looking for, however it's an important part of the picture and therefore worth taking into account.
Getting a forecast of your state pension is relatively easy. The first option is to use the State pension E-Service, an Online service which allows you to receive a projection via the web. If you prefer to use more traditional methods you can also complete a form ( called a BR19 ), Send it to the state pension forecasting team and receive a document back in due course confirming what you're entitled to. This will allow you to have a clearer picture of your current provisions to making calculating your "shortfall" easier and having a far more robust plan to your future retirement.
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