Retirement planning is something that’s often put on the back burner while other important stages of life are happening. You could be buying your first home, and then raising a family. Retirement can seem an awful long way off in the distant future. Retirement will come much quicker than you realise, and you could regret not putting any retirement planning in place. It doesn’t have to be a complicated process, especially if you know how start the ball rolling, or you can get the professionals in this field to help you. To get you started here are 7 tips to help with your retirement planning.
1. Start Planning Early
The earlier you start your financial planning for retirement the better. Just a few years of delay can make a sizeable difference to your pension. This is because money makes more money. In the first year your contributions to a pension scheme will make some money. In the second year you have your contributions plus the previous years profit making money. It is a snowball effect, and the difference to your pension when you retire can be significant.
Research shows most people in Ireland do not start thinking about investing for their retirement until they have passed 40. If they started their pension plans at 30 they would be much better off in retirement, and the people who start planning in their 20’s will be the most prepared of all.
2. Have A Financial Plan
If you want financial freedom when you retire, you need to have a financial plan for the intervening years. Spending less now and investing more for the future can be difficult, but a clearly defined plan can help you to achieve your goals. Look at ways of cutting overheads. For instance, could you reduce your mortgage by finding a better deal? If you use credit cards shop around for offers of interest free periods on new cards to try and reduce the amount you owe.
3. Be Realistic
When you are setting the budget for retirement planning, be realistic about the amount you can afford. It’s better to start with a smaller amount you will be able to maintain, than try for a larger sum and end up having to cancel because it’s too much of a drain on your finances.
You mustn’t forget you have to live from day to day now, and you should not become a skinflint or never have any entertainment or leisure activities. When you are working out how much you can afford to invest in your future, allow a bit of money to save for holidays, new clothes, and special occasions like birthdays and Christmas.
4. Don’t Think You Wont Need To Plan
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you don’t need to plan for the future. Some people think they will be fine because the children will be grown and the mortgage paid off so they will not need as much money. That may be true, but when your earnings stop and all you’re left with is the state pension, suddenly we can discover it doesn’t stretch as far as we thought it would.
Your salary may stop, but all the expenses don’t. You will still have utility bills to pay, food to buy, and if you have a car it will still need insurance, fuel and repairs. The Irish state pension is more generous than pensions in many other countries, but it’s still not the sort of income you will have been used to.
5. Talk To Professionals
When it comes to retirement planning, or any other type of financial planning, it’s always best to talk to professionals. What was suitable for your mate in the pub 10 years ago could be totally wrong for you now. This is partly because laws and regulations change frequently, and with the government doing all they can to encourage people to invest for their future, there are more incentives now than ever for sound retirement planning.
There are many different types of plans and ways to make your investments, and someone who is qualified in retirement planning will be able to give you the best advice. They will talk you through all the options, tell you of any risks involved, and generally make sure you are fully informed about all your choices.
6. Listen To Them
Not just anyone can say they are a financial advisor. They have to be qualified to be able to give you retirement planning advice, and all financial firms are regulated by the Central Bank Of Ireland to make sure the financial advice you are being given is safe and fair. They monitor and enforce consumer protection and conduct of business for financial institutions. They also set a minimum level of competency for the firms.
This all means you can trust the advice you are being given, so you should listen to what you are being told by the professionals.
7. Find The Best Firm In Dublin To Help With Your Retirement Planning
When you are looking for help with planning for your retirement, you should get in touch with us at Mason Wealth Management. We not only have all the qualifications required, we have over 20 years industry experience.
Whether you’re a business owner, or employed by someone else, we can help you with all your financial planning needs. We can assist people who are coming up to retirement, have already retired, or are looking a few years into the future at their retirement. We have the knowledge and expertise to give you the best advice no matter what your situation is.
If you want to know more from the best firm in Dublin to help with your retirement planning, call and have a chat with us on 01 969 5786, or email us at [email protected]. You will be glad you did.