Over the next ten years, the state pension age will increase to age 67, prolonging the moment many dental and medical professionals can finally hang up their working hats and settle into retirement. There are a variety of reasons you might find yourself working for longer than you expect, but do you have to?
This does not constitute advice and advice should be sought in all instances before acting on it.
Ironically, since retirement is the time you get to spend uninterrupted with your family, most of the reasons to carry on working longer have to do with them!
In these tough economic times, it’s no surprise that your offspring may require a little more financial assistance for longer than you originally planned. As a parent, you feel an obligation, if not a desire, to help your children. That may take the form of helping them through university, contributing to a deposit on their first home, or helping them pay the bills when times are tough.
Perhaps you waited until later in life to have children so your original plan needs to change and you find yourself shelling out cash when you should be kicking your savings into high gear. Or maybe you might need to end up covering medical expenses for your own parents if they failed to properly plan for end of life needs.
How exactly can you retire on time (or early)?
Regardless of the circumstances, while many individuals will have to suffer the additional years working, that doesn’t necessarily need to be the case for everyone. With careful planning and dedicated saving, you might be one of the lucky ones that can relax and enjoy your golden years before the rest of your peers.
The long and the short of it is that you need to start planning for retirement early and ensure that you have a diversified investment portfolio designed to minimse risk and maximise returns. It’s not enough to rely on just a pension or just savings – you need to have it all.
The right mix
First and foremost, you should start with an Individual Savings Account (ISA) – they’re the foundation of a solid retirement plan. They’re easily and instantly accessible, so there’s no waiting until a certain point to withdraw and they come with great tax advantages. Across the four different types of ISAs, an individual is allowed to save up to £20,000 tax-free each year – additional family members only increase that limit.
Pensions are normally seen as the bread and butter of retirement plans. And if you have a spouse, then you’re that much closer to retirement since you can combine forces, and pensions specifically. This is where dealing with a professional financial advisor comes in handy. Because of the many different scenarios – non-earning spouses, basic rate taxpayer spouses, higher rate taxpayers, spouse as a co-worker or subordinate, to name a few – the rules surrounding pensions will change depending on the circumstances. Despite this fact, pensions are still a hugely important element to your retirement plan.
Another option would be to utilise Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) because of their generous 30% tax relief. If you’ve hit the limit on your annual or lifetime pension allowance, they’re a great option to help you save. Again, because VCTs are more complicated than your average investment, it’s best to work with an advisor to ensure that they fit into your overall plan.
Get expert advice
It might seem daunting to get a comprehensive retirement plan set up and put into action, but you don’t have to go it alone. We’ve been helping doctors and dentists prepare for retirement for years and would love to help you prepare financially for when the day finally comes. Contact us today.
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