The top three ways to revive pension pots for those on the cusp of retirement or who are recently retired are 1) to review the pension strategy annually, 2) to know the pension’s benefits and when they will become payable, and 3) to be aware of pension charges, according to one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations.
Baby boomers: Retirement planning booster tips
DeVere Group, which has 80,000 clients and $10bn under advice, releases its ‘retirement planning booster tips’ as millions of baby boomers start to retire and the Social Security Administration closes one in 20 field offices, leaving many struggling to find advice on benefits and retirement planning.
Reece Fallaize, deVere Group’s Senior Technical Manager, comments: “With life expectancy increasing, financial support from the authorities dwindling, the cost of living, medical and care set to rise further over the longer-term, and low interest rates, amongst other factors, many baby boomers are coming to a depressing realisation: that there just might not be enough in their pension pots to last throughout their retirement, or enough to enable them to enjoy the retirement they had envisaged.
“Naturally, for those in their 20s and 30s, the key to avoiding this issue would be to start saving as much as possible as early as possible in order to accumulate a larger pot. But how can those who have recently retired or who are about to kickstart their retirement planning and potentially avoid having to considerably downsize their retirement ambitions and lifestyle?”
Safeguarding and maximizing your pension
Mr Fallaize explains: “Typically, it comes down to safeguarding and maximizing your pension.
“The first tip is to review your pension annually, just like a company produces accounts on an annual basis and can plan ahead based on those results. Markets are constantly changing therefore your pension should reflect the current and forecast market conditions for optimum results.”
“The second tip is to know the benefits of your pension. What will your income be? What is it likely to be in the future? And, more importantly, when can you receive it? What about a spousal pension and a guaranteed minimum pension? Knowing exactly what benefits you have or don’t have will enable you to plan ahead more effectively, and subsequently make other suitable arrangements if necessary.
“And the third tip is to be aware of pension charges, or to be broader be aware of ‘pension costs’, which are all the things that erode your overall pension income. These are namely charges, inflation and, of course, taxation.
“As a starting point, people should find out what charges you are paying and see if you are getting the best deal possible. Charges alone can make a significant difference to your overall retirement income.”
Baby boomers are the new era of retirement
Reece Fallaize concludes: “The world has changed in recent years – and baby boomers are the first generation in a new era of retirement. Many people are now retired for more than a third of their lives and retirement planning strategies have to reflect this fresh reality.
“By following these tips, baby boomers should be on track to revive and boost their retirement plan and keep it in-check.”
About the author
deVere Group is one of the world’s largest independent advisors of specialist global financial solutions to international, local mass affluent, and high-net-worth clients. It has a network of 70 offices across the world, more than 1,200 staff, over 80,000 clients and $10bn under advisement.
