Herald - Issue 421

Page 58 • The HERALD • 31st March 2022 v THE NEXT HERALD IS OUT ON 21ST APRIL v ASK A PROFESSIONAL Getting Ready For Retirement by Michael Osman, Oyster Financial Planning Have you ever wondered what you need to consider as you approach retirement? ‘Will I be able to retire when I want to?’ ‘Will I run out of money?’ ‘How can I guarantee the kind of retirement I want?’ ese are hard questions to answer unless you obtain professional nancial advice and why you need to start by reviewing your nances sooner rather than later. A er decades of working and saving, you can nally see retirement on the horizon. If you plan to retire within the next ve years or so, consider taking these 8 steps today. 1. Track down your pensions - It’s important to track down all the di erent pension schemes you’ve previously paid into. 2. When can you access your pensions? - Since April 2015, pension freedoms have given savers in de ned contribution (DC) schemes greater access to their cash, allowing exible withdrawals from the age of 55. 3. What’s your pension’s value? - e easiest way to nd out how much your pension is worth is to check your pension statements. In them they’ll tell you how much your pension is currently worth and what it’s expected to pay out at your retirement date. 4. Get a state pension forecast – e easiest way to do this is online, just type in State Pension Forecast on Google. 5. Getting investment advice - If you have access to other savings and investments, you might want to consider using these before accessing your pension or in conjunction with. 6. How will you access your pension? - ere are more pension options than ever thanks to the pension freedoms that allow savers access to every penny of their retirement savings. 7. How is your pension invested? - You need to keep a close eye on which funds your retirement savings are in so that you can check you’re comfortable with the risks involved. 8. The benefits of advice - Professional nancial advice will help you make the right decisions about your money and your future. Retirement planning is important because it can help you avoid running out of money in retirement. To start planning for retirement today get in touch by emailing: michael@oyster nancialplanning.co.uk or call into the o ce based opposite the old Lloyds Bank in Hythe. Michael Osman, Oyster Financial Planning