The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
When will you be able to retire?
As legislation and financial pressures mean many people work longer, money expert Allan Gardner, of law firm Aberdein Considine, explains what to do to retire as early as possible
The number of people in the UK who plan to work beyond 65 has hit an alltime high.
New research from Canada Life Group Insurance found that 73% of employees expect to work beyond the traditional retirement age, up from 67% last year and 61% in 2015.
Younger workers are even more certain they will be in employment past 65, with more than four out of five 25-34-year-olds expecting it.
More than onethird of those who anticipated working beyond 65 believed they could be more than 70 before they finally retire.
One in 10 expected to be at least 85 at retirement, if it were possible at all.
According to Canada Life, eight years of rockbottom interest rates have taken a toll on employees’ savings.
Its research suggests nearly one-third of UK workers, or 10million people, expect to work past 65 specifically because of low interest on their savings. This is up from 23% in 2016.
Poor pension planning is another reason UK employees expect to have to work past 65.
More than a third those surveyed believed their pension would not be sufficient, so they would need to continue earning a wage.
However, not all reasons for delaying retirement were negative – 34% enjoyed their job and wanted to work for as long as possible.
When asked about the biggest challenges facing those working beyond 65, UK workers believed health (57%) and energy levels (48%) to bethe biggest issues.
Other perceived challenges included keeping up with new technology (21%) and coping with the daily commute (19%). Retirement may seem a long way off but are you saving enough now for a comfortable retirement? With the state pension and some private pensions falling short in terms of what they provide in retirement, can you rely on these alone to provide sufficient income?
It can be hard to plan for tomorrow when we’re busy living for today, but if you begin planning and saving now you’ll have more options in the future.
You will be pleasantly surprised by the big difference it can make to your savings if you start saving early.
This is because of the compounding of interest or income on your capital. Every year, you earn on both your original capital and the accumulated interest.
It’s a snowball effect – as your capital “rolls down the hill” it becomes bigger.
The earlier you start investing, the more time you have for compounding to take effect.
The closer you get to giving up work, the greater the need to preserve your savings and make sure they last all through retirement.
This is also a time to consider what changes you may need to make to your investments as you approach the end of your working life.
People are living longer, so you’ll need to make sure your money lasts as long as you do.
It is also crucial to make the right investment decisions now to so that, over time, the growth of your savings keeps pace with inflation.
Ask yourself if you are paying enough into your pension and what income it will give you in retirement.
What age will you be able to afford to retire and where is your money invested?
If you can't answer some of these questions, an independent financial adviser can help you get to grips with your pension plans and devise a strategy to make your money work as hard for you as possible.