It’s never too early to think about retirement and to start making your plan. If you’re within 10 years of retiring, we have some practical advice for what you should be thinking about.
It’s always a good idea to have a trusted financial advisor you can work with. This is even more crucial as you approach retirement. They can help you get a clearer idea of what your financial circumstances are likely to be when you retire and what you can do now to help your plan.
Ten years to go…
- Start the conversation. Speak to a financial adviser, family and friends about planning for your retirement.
- Contact your pension providers for statements so that you know the value of pension policies.
- Are your investments performing as you’d like? You might want to consider, spreading your investments differently. It’s also worth reviewing your attitude to risk with our risk questionnaire.
- If you hold more than one pension policy with different providers, it might be worthwhile to combine them. Speak with your financial adviser about the potential benefits.
- If you can, you might want to increase your pension contributions to benefit from tax relief. Have a chat with your adviser and, when you’re ready, complete our pension top up form.
Five Years or Less to go to Retirement
- When can you retire? Check the rules of your pension plan to see when you can choose to retire.
- When will you become eligible for the State Pension?
- What level of pension and tax-free lump sum can I currently expect at retirement?
- Will this income be enough to sustain my current standard of living in retirement?
- How long will this money last me?
- How do I maximise my retirement fund? Depending on your age, you can save up to 40% of your income into a pension and claim full tax relief.
- What portion of my pension pot is tax free and what is taxed?
- Am I invested in the right pension fund given how I plan to take my benefits at retirement? Now is a good time to review your fund choice, especially if you are considering opting for an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) at retirement.
- Keep boosting those contributions if you can. Remember, you get the benefit of tax relief on your contributions, so contact your financial adviser then complete our pension top up form.
- It’s time to think about how you’ll take your pension income and what the options are.
- Take the opportunity to get your other affairs in order by, for example, reviewing your will and the possible impact of inheritance tax.
One Year Out or Less
- Speak to your financial adviser and review all your plans. Do you have everything you need in place?
- Review all the figures. Get statements of your projected retirement fund values from your pension providers and speak to your financial adviser about whether there’s anything else you need to do.
- Contact the Department of Social Protection to check your State pension entitlements.
- Start planning a budget for your retirement. Include your expected annual pension income after tax and other deductions. Estimate your expected outgoings and expenses in retirement.
- If the lifestyle you want in retirement will cost more than you expect, you may need to consider continuing to work part-time, reducing your expenses, or postponing your retirement date to meet your goals.
Start Planning Today..
Finally, it’s never too early or too late to get your retirement plan started. Future you will thank current you for taking the time out to review and plan your retirement. And always speak to a trusted financial adviser before making any changes to your pension.
Warnings: The material is not intended to provide advice and is for general information purposes only. The information set out is based on our understanding of intended legislation and Revenue practice as at August 2023. The value of your investment may go down as well as up and the return upon the investments will therefore necessarily be variable.
