You can retire today, what are you going to do?

I recently spent 2 hours going through a financial plan with a couple who are planning on retiring over the next few years. They have substantial savings in pensions and in the bank. They wanted to get an idea of how they might manage financially post-retirement and look at how some scenarios (new car, long holiday etc.) might affect their savings.

One thing I would like to point out is that these are new clients and they had built up their savings and pensions over a long period of time. They had already done a superb job building up their retirement nest egg, but they came to me to see what their options were and if they had enough to fund a comfortable lifestyle in retirement.

One question asked was “I was just wondering if based on our existing savings and pensions, can we afford to retire today if we want?”. So, we discussed what they have planned for retirement, what they roughly might need for a comfortable standard of living and it transpired that they could in fact afford to stop working today. In return, I asked them “Is there a reason why you would choose not to retire?”.

We then discussed whether they should try to grow their substantial savings which is currently sitting on deposit. I discussed the pros and cons of investing it (inflationary risk, negative interest rates) but also clarified that in their case, they actually didn’t need to invest the money.

We also discussed potential inheritance tax and I showed them an alternative plan that can cover the tax liability their children may accrue later down the line. The best part of this particular type of plan is the flexibility to change if their situation changes and the option to cash it out after a specific period of time.

If you are retiring soon and you are unsure of how life will look in retirement, you may find a financial review like this helpful. It may also help you make adjustments that could make a massive difference to what you might get from your pension. When you are in your 60’s, you can put up to 40% of your salary into your pension and get tax relief at your marginal rate.

Next month I will show a simple example of how you could potentially make a savings pot of €120,000 on deposit turn into €200,000 in 5 years.

Have a question? #JustCallOran on 087 6686624 or visit www.drumgoolebrokerage.ie for more information.

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