As a doctor or dentist, working in the healthcare industry can at times be stressful and tiring. There may be days when you find yourself dreaming of retiring early and spending the last of your days tending to your garden, sunning yourself on the Costas of Spain or for the more adventurous, backpacking your way around the world! Before you can do this, you must make sure that you have the funds to support yourself.
This article does not constitute advice. Professional advice should be taken prior to acting on any part of it.
First things first: How much will you benefit from your NHS Pension Scheme?
Before you make plans for early retirement, find out what section of the NHS Pension Scheme you are in. For example, those in the 1995 section could retire at 50 if they meet certain criteria. Or, those who are in the 2008 section can retire at 55.
Also, if you are paying into a private pension scheme you must check that this doesn’t breach the Lifetime or Annual Allowances.
(1) Start planning early
If you are a recent graduate or have just set up in practice, you may not be focused on your retirement. But by putting it into perspective you will realise why it’s important to start planning for retirement as early as you can.
If you are in mid-twenties and you want to retire by fifty that only gives you twenty-five years to save!
It is easier to set aside money for pension contributions early on in your career as
a) it gets you into the habit of doing it, and
b) it means you don’t have to contribute larger sums later in life.
(2) Re-assess your lifestyle
Carrying out an assessment of your lifestyle may highlight areas where you can afford to make cutbacks. The money that is saved from this could be put towards funding your early retirement.
As an example, if your children have flown the nest, you could consider downsizing to a smaller property. Or, you could consider renting out your spare rooms.
If you do decide to rent out rooms, it is advisable to get professional advice as the income you receive may be taxable.
(3) Look at investing
The most obvious form of investment is property, but there are other forms of investment you could consider such as shares, or a less risky route is paying money into an ISA.
Investing in shares can be risky and complicated. We advise you seek advice from a financial advisor who specialises in this area.
If you are considering, investing in shares it is best to start early as this gives the shares more time to increase in value.
(4) Slide into retirement
If, after looking at the figures you realise you may not be able to fully retire early, you could choose instead to slide into early retirement.
This means that you continue to work but on a part time basis.
The advantages of this are that you can still benefit from a regular income, whilst paying less tax and lower work expenses.
For employers, it means that they still benefit from having access to your expertise and knowledge, which can be passed onto younger members of staff, who may eventually replace you when you take full retirement.
For help plan an early retirement, speak to Darren
Dental & Medical Financial Services have been helping doctors and dentists with retirement planning for over 25 years. Call to discuss your situation with Darren:
Tel: 01403 780 770