Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Getting older: 5 things you should know
It’s never too early to start saving for the future
18% cheaper on average than last week
7% cheaper on average than last week
This is a good time to think about buying…
If you’ve been thinking about investing in a smartwatch, February is the time to do it in order to make a bit of a saving.
The average price of a smartwatch now is £210. If you were to wait until September to buy one, you’d pay 5% more.
If £210 already seems like a very steep sum, remember this is an average across all models on the market and there are more affordable versions available for much less than this.
Even in a normal year, this season sees a steep increase in demand for vitamin products.
Add a global pandemic into the mix and consumers are even more keen to spend their money on supplements to support their immune system.
Probiotics are particularly popular with British consumers at the moment. They are believed to improve gut health.
Also enjoying a bit of a boom is vitamin D, thanks to NHS recommendations that people should take a daily supplement.
We expect demand for vitamins and supplements to remain high until late March. It is likely to be impacted by how fast the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme takes place. Data provided by price comparison site Idealo.co.uk
Having a better tomorrow depends on saving today.
How much is enough for you to retire? What’s your number?
None of us are getting any younger and time flies faster as we age, so it’s important to plan ahead for retirement – a period of our life that could last 40 years. My wife gets frustrated with me when I spend more time planning our retirement than I do our summer holiday, but it’s a no-brainer… isn’t it? We all have what I call a wealth window, a limited period of time to create the wealth to see us through our retirement. As this window gets smaller, it’s harder to climb through. If you have 10 years to go before you plan to retire, you have 120 more paydays to secure your retirement.
There are two types of people: those who outlive their money and those who don’t. Everyone wants to be in the latter group but as you approach retirement, it may be too late to do much about it. There’s no escaping that you must save, and you must save today, if you want your future to be brighter than your past. Time and the ability to invest regularly are your best assets to secure your retirement.
When we save for retirement, we’re putting aside money for our future self, the person we will become.
To do this, we balance our needs and wants – and after more than 25 years in financial planning, I can tell you that no matter how much you earn, you’ll always be balancing them.
Most people don’t get excited about saving each month because, just like a growing oak tree, you don’t see the outcome for years to come, and we’re all too impatient to wait years. This is why so few of us are able to secure the retirement we want… even though we all like the beautiful oak tree.
Knowing how much you need to save for your retirement has always been difficult to calculate.
We don’t know how long you’ll live, what inflation will be, and so on.
That’s why in The Money Plan, I share the rule of 300: if you want an income of £1,000 per month in retirement, you’ll need a pension pot of around £300,000 to achieve it. This is a great ‘finger in the air’ estimate, even though it can’t be perfect.
For those who want to take it a step further and create a plan for retirement, there’s an excellent, free website, truthaboutmoney.co.uk
After entering a few of your details, it calculates how much you will need to save each month in order to ensure you never run out of money throughout your retirement years.
Whether you have 36 or 360 or paydays left until you stop working, thinking about the future now will help you make the decisions you need to achieve the retirement you want.
Coronavirus had a big effect on first-time buyers, according to a survey by Halifax.
The number of first-time buyers was down 13% year on year in 2020, according to the building society – in line with the 11% fall of the market.
First-time buyers now account for around 50% of all mortgaged property purchases, down 1% from 2019. December’s public sector net borrowing requirement (the shortfall between Government spending plans and tax revenue) is estimated to have been £34.1billion, the highest ever for a December.
Government debt also rose to £2,131.7bn – 18% higher than it was a year ago.
It represents 99.4% of GDP, the highest level since 1961/62.
Your state pension age will probably be 66, rising to what may be 68 for some, but this does not mean it’s your retirement age. There is no fixed “retirement age” any more.
Your workplace pension is one of the best places for you to save for retirement, with low fees. Increase what you’re paying into it, if you are able to.
We’re living longer. A girl born in 1951 was expected to live to 82 and a boy to 77, but by 2018 this had increased to 92 and 90 respectively.
When you live longer, you need more money. Seriously think about whether you’ll want to downsize and release capital from your home. If you do, don’t leave it too late to settle into your new home and make friends. If your employer hasn’t automatically enrolled you in your workplace pension because of your age or income, you have the right to join if you ask.
If I leave a certain percentage of my estate to a charity, will it reduce the tax liability of my estate? And if so, what is the percentage, please?
WARREN: Anything left to charity is exempt from inheritance tax so this reduces your estate value in itself. When you leave 10% or more of your taxable estate to a charity (i.e. total estate less the nil rate band), your tax rate reduces from 40% to 36%.
I notice that on the pension death benefit form, you can leave some of the lump sum to a charity? Is it worth it? WARREN: If you want to leave money to a charity, it is better to leave it from your estate (ISAs, money in the bank, property etc) rather than from your pension because this will reduce your taxable estate. Your pension is already outside of your estate.
Email warrenshute@ sundaymirror.com or tweet @warrenshute with #SunMirror