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In recent weeks we’ve seen big news for older workers with Pope Leo XIV elected aged 69 and legendary investor Warren Buffett choosing to retire at the age of 94. It shows that if you love what you do and find purpose in it then you can continue to do it into your late 60s and beyond.
However, while continuing to work because you want to is a huge positive, no-one wants to be in a position where they have to keep working because they don’t have enough put by in their pension.
This has been highlighted in the recent Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Financial Lives survey which shows one-third of adults with a defined contribution (DC) pension have less than £10,000 saved, and another 12% don’t know how much they have saved. Added to this, only a third (33%) of DC pension holders have thought a lot about how they are going to manage in retirement.
Read more: Why it's important to plan for retirement with your partner
Recent data from Hargreaves Lansdown shows half of people were planning to retire at some point in their sixties. This makes sense given that most will plan to retire at some point around their state pension age. However, there were 14% who thought that might not happen until they hit their 70s. This could be because they love what they are doing and don’t think they will want to stop, or else it could mean they don’t think they’ve got enough. More than one in five didn’t know.
Further data from Hargreaves Lansdown’s Savings and Resilience Barometer shows that just 36% of households are on track for a moderate retirement income, which shows there is still much work to be done.
Having a plan for what you want your retirement to look like is vital. For some it will include lots of travel, while others will want something more modest. Once you’ve got an idea of what you want, then you can begin to estimate how much that might cost.
Using an online pension calculator will give you an idea of how much you are on track to receive. If it’s enough then that brings real comfort, if it isn’t you still have time to do something about it.
Taking actions, such as increasing your pension contribution every time you get a pay rise or new job can be a good way of boosting how much goes into your pension. Checking in to see if your employer is willing to pay in more if you do through an employer match is another way of increasing your retirement pot without necessarily having to put much more in yourself.
Taking actions like this on a regular basis means that whether you plan to stop work at 60 or work into your seventies and beyond you have control over that decision and can retire on your own terms.