With all that has been going on in the world this year, it’s been challenging for many people to feel as though they’re in control of much. However, some people have been in the fortunate position of taking the opportunity to invest in their physical and emotional health while in lockdown.\n
Worryingly, though, research suggests that some people might have overlooked their future financial health[1] as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. So as life begins to normalise, now is an excellent time to take back some of that control, starting with retirement savings.\n
Establishing financial security is essential, but it doesn’t happen overnight. We must cultivate good financial habits over our lifetime to grow and maintain our retirement nest egg. All of our financial decisions and activities ultimately affect our financial health.\n
Of those who spent the months of lockdown working from home, some might have been able to make financial savings as a result. Some employees, including furloughed employees, will have been entitled to employer pension contributions that may now need reviewing. People entering or approaching retirement in 2023 should carefully plan how and when to access their pension to maximise annual allowances and tax-free benefits.\n According to the research findings, 21% of people have taken the time to review and better organise their finances since the pandemic started. The younger generation of 18-34-year-olds (31%) were more likely to have managed their finances than those aged 35-54 (22%) and 55+ (13%), while men (23%) were more likely to have done this than women (19%).\n Just 9% said that they hadn’t reviewed their finances and were more badly organised than before the pandemic. This was much more likely among men (42%) than women (32%) and also more common among the younger generations, with 49% of 18-34-year-olds compared to 36% among 35-54-year-olds and 28% of over-55s.\n For the past six months, understandably, people have been focused on the short term, and many may have neglected retirement savings.\n If we’ve learnt anything from this COVID-19 pandemic, it’s the importance of financial resilience, including having savings for later life. You need to save now so you can spend it later in life. Making plans now for how you will pay the bills later when you are no longer working will prevent panic when you suddenly find yourself retiring.\n Source data:\n [1] Aegon research with Opinium surveyed 2,000 adults between 15 and 19 May 2020\n INFORMATION IS BASED ON OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF TAXATION LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS. ANY LEVELS AND BASES OF, AND RELIEFS FROM, TAXATION ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. TAX TREATMENT IS BASED ON INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE IN THE FUTURE. ALTHOUGH ENDEAVOURS HAVE BEEN MADE TO PROVIDE ACCURATE AND TIMELY INFORMATION,\n WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT SUCH INFORMATION IS ACCURATE AS OF THE DATE IT IS RECEIVED, OR THAT IT WILL CONTINUE TO BE ACCURATE IN THE FUTURE. NO INDIVIDUAL OR COMPANY SHOULD ACT UPON SUCH INFORMATION WITHOUT RECEIVING APPROPRIATE PROFESSIONAL ADVICE AFTER A THOROUGH REVIEW OF THEIR PARTICULAR SITUATION. WE CANNOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY LOSS AS A RESULT OF ACTS OR OMISSIONS.\nMORE BADLY ORGANISED THAN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC\n
10 TIPS TO ENJOY THE RETIREMENT YOU WANT\n
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SAVING NOW SO YOU CAN SPEND LATER IN LIFE\n