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At some point in time we all have to retire. We cannot work forever, a sad fact for all you workaholics out there. Many people don’t give much thought to retirement until much later in life but you should give it thought sooner rather than later.

Retirement planning should start early to enable smooth sailing when the time comes. You want to make your retirement as easy as possible but what does retirement planning consist of?

Retirement Planning As A Broad Term

Retirement planning is an extremely broad term. It can involve different aspects at different stages of your life. For young people it can centre around saving for retirement as time is on their side.

More than 15 years from retirement and you might want to start planning what you are actually going to do when retired. What are your hobbies and interests? Are you going to volunteer? You will begin to think about how you are going to spend all your free time. But also consider how much income you will need in retirement to support your desired lifestyle.

Fast forward to nearing the retirement age and your focus will be on what you’re going to do with your money, how you’re going to spend it and choosing a pension plan. You will need to work out how much income you are going to receive.

The last stage is being in retirement itself. Here you will be required to manage your assets and maximise your income, reduce your costs. You can still improve your financial situation while you are retired.

What Age Should You Start Retirement Planning?

Simply put, you should begin retirement planning as soon as possible. In your early 20’s and early in your career.

Quite often young people are too focused on saving for a new car, a new house or getting married to give retirement planning a second thought. They put this off until they are approaching retirement age but this adds to stress and financial concerns later in life.

Reduce the future stress by putting money aside in your early 20s and early 30s so you can build it up slowly over your whole career.

A recent survey by Standard Life showed that out of 1,000 people surveyed, 44% said that they should have started retirement planning earlier and saved a greater amount for their future.

The older you get the more likely you are going to have to manage your income and pay out for more, such as a mortgage, rent, all the costs associated with having children. Save earlier to make retirement more comfortable.

Retirement Planning & Setting Retirement Age

The normal retirement age in Ireland is between 60 and 70.

As stated in Citizens Information:

“There is no single fixed retirement age for employees. If you are employed, your retirement age is set out in your contract of employment. Some contracts of employment have a mandatory retirement age (that is, the age at which you must retire), but they also have provisions for earlier retirement generally and/or on grounds of illness.

“The usual retirement age in contracts of employment is 65. Many have provisions for early retirement from age 60 or in some cases from age 55 and most have provision for early retirement on health grounds.”

When people make a pensions plan for retirement they set out a date upon when they plan to retire.

However, recent findings from Standard Life show that while the majority (86%) of people aged 45 or over cannot wait to retire and escape their working life, only 8% have recently checked up on their retirement date in their pensions plan to ensure it falls in place with their retirement planning.

Additionally, more than half (56%) of people aged 45 or over don’t have a clear outlook on when they plan to retire and only 10% have worked out their income requirements for when retirement arises.

The need to keep on top of your retirement data and how this falls in line with your retirement planning is vital. To reiterate, plan earlier, not later.

Professional Advice For Your Retirement Planning

You cannot plan for retirement all by yourself. At some point you will need professional advice.  At Mason Wealth we have over 30 years helping people with their retirement planning.

Some of our services include:

  • A realistic assessment of your situation
  • Money Management
  • Pension planning
  • Investment advice

Start your retirement planning early and make your future more comfortable. Call us today on (01) 9695786 or email [email protected] to book an appointment with our qualified and experienced team.