• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

Your Account

Brown Dog logo

Giving you what you need to make wise financial decisions, for the life you want now and in the future

  • Home
  • What we do
  • How we do it
  • Why come to us
    • My Mortgage or My Pension?
    • When can I Retire?
    • Will my Partner be alright?
    • I don’t want to leave money to the Tax Man
  • Who we are
  • Blog
    • Brown Dog Videos
  • Contact
  • Brown Dog Financial Planning
  • What we do
    • Brown Dog Videos
  • How we do it
  • Why come to us
  • Who we are
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Account Login
When can I retire

When can I retire?

Will I have enough?

These are questions we’re most often asked, and I’m afraid there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. I think people get frustrated by hearing “It depends…”, but it truly does. We are each wonderfully unique.

How much is enough for the rest of your life depends on what your life looks like. If you have big expectations with big spending, having enough will mean having a big pot. If, on the other hand, you’re modest in your lifestyle and spending, then having enough will mean a much more modestly-sized pot.

It’s worth remembering, a pot isn’t just a pension, it’s all the financial stuff you’ve accumulated: pensions, ISAs, Investments, savings etc.

A general rule of thumb is that the income you need to live on should be 5% of the value of your ‘pot’. For easy maths, if you need £50,000 a year before tax, then you probably need a pot that adds up to about £1,000,000.

Begin by working out what you need to live on each year. However, when you’re working it out, make sure you include that cup of coffee and cake at the nice coffee shop by the river when you walk the dog, or the bunch of flowers you just couldn’t resist. Also include the travel adventures you’d like to go on as well, near or further afield. Don’t just add up the bills and food, that’s not living, that’s existing. It’s different.

Add up all those numbers, horrify yourself with how much you spend (it’s always more than you think when it’s cold hard facts on paper) and then check them over with a reality head on. Once you’ve got over the amount it adds up to, don’t panic and think ‘‘That’s it I can never afford to stop working!” You can and you will.

Take the next step. Take your total amount, then subtract the amount you’ll receive as State Pension. It’s easy to get a forecast of your State Pension and when you’ll be able to start receiving it at www.gov.uk/check-state-pension. (See my blog You can’t trust pensions, can you? for more on pensions).

Back to my easy maths example from above. If you have a State Pension of £8,500 for example, then your pot now only has to produce £41,500 – much better. If you’re one part of a couple, then 2 x £8,500 makes it even better and suddenly you only need to find £33,000 a year. Your pot then needs to be £660,000 or 2/3 of your original thought. Much less scary, and starting to look doable now, right?

You’d be surprised where it all comes from and how it adds up. Read my blog to find out more about how to work out where your retirement money is coming from.

If you’d like a clearer picture of where you are now financially, and where you could be with a new financial plan, then please give me a call on 01488 682890 for a no-obligation chat.

The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the original amount invested. HM Revenue and Customs practice and the law relating to taxation are complex and subject to individual circumstances and changes which cannot be foreseen.

Share this post:

Share on X (Twitter) Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on E-mail
Previous Post: «Minimising inheritance tax Can I minimise Inheritance Tax for my family after I’ve gone?
Next Post: Property as a Pension? Is it it a Good Option? Property as a pension»

Footer

Social

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Contact

2 The Courtyard
Stype
Hungerford RG17 0RE

01488 682890
team@browndogfp.co.uk

 

Navigation

  • Who we are
  • Why come to us
  • What we do
  • How we do it
  • Blog
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Account

Site Footer

Registered in England. Company registered number 9699107.  Registered address 2 The Courtyard, Stype, Hungerford, RG17 0RE

Brown Dog Financial Planning Limited is an appointed representative of Openwork Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The information on this website is for use of residents of the United Kingdom only. No representations are made as to whether the information is applicable or available in any other country which may have access to it.

Copyright © 2023 Brown Dog Financial Planning | Website by Callia Web

Copyright © 2023 Brown Dog Financial Planning · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme