Retirement Plans for an Age of Uncertainty

Here we stand in an Age of Uncertainty.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine. Domestic political issues. Rising Inflation.

Enough to make you want to shelve any retirement plans you may have?

Well, that depends on how much you are prepared to let wider events affect your personal decisions.

Of course, the Russia/Ukraine situation is terrible and our hearts go out to the brave Ukrainian people fighting to retain their freedom.

And back home, nobody will escape the pressure on living standards brought on by rising energy and food prices. The biggest squeeze on household incomes since the 1970s.

It can be tempting to wait until things settle down. Though they won’t, entirely. Such is the nature of life.

Consider this:

1. Current issues will not last forever
2. New issues will come to test us

At whatever stage you are at with your retirement planning – still paying into a pension, or starting to draw from yours, there is one planning tool which can help us rest easy at night – Your Cashflow Plan.

In its simplest form a household spreadsheet of income and expenditure is a good starting point. Feed this data into a sophisticated piece of cashflow planning software and you have a tool which can forecast the income you will need for your entire lifetime.

My team uses Voyant software and here’s 5 ways it adds extra value over a simple spreadsheet:

1. Shows your real spending power by taking account of inflation
2. Allows budgeting for one-off items of expenditure such as cars, trips, family events
3. ‘Stress tests’ your cashflow plan in case of a major stock market upset
4. Calculates how much income you can safely take over your lifetime to age 100
5. Avoids you running out of money ever, with regular reviews

Cashflow planning is just one key aspect of retirement planning. Here’s 3 others to ponder:

• If you have a number of pension pots, transferring them to a single pension portfolio could give you better control and performance from your funds.

• Or if you have just one pension – consider if the funds it is invested in are giving the growth potential you need at a level of risk you are comfortable with?

• Do you have flexible access to draw regular income and lump sums from your pension?

Active management of pension funds is now vital throughout your life. The old approach of transferring most of it into cash upon retirement will not serve you well. Particularly considering rising inflation. Cash deposit account have never kept up with rising inflation – reducing your spending power over time.

Please don’t keep your future on hold – Call us now on 0121 355 4455 to chat with one of our friendly pension specialists or email us at appointments@oaklandswealth.com

“Lost time is never found again.” – Benjamin Franklin.