Sadly lack of funds is a huge cause of anxiety for a lot of people, in this land of austerity. The saying, money can’t buy you happiness is true, but having a little surplus cash certainly makes being happy more achievable.
The world is a very different and complicated place these days. Back in the day, when I started work, it was generally thought you would remain loyal to your employer, have a job for life and be able to retire fairly comfortably at the age of 60 for women and 65 for men, with a lot of companies offering final salary pensions and looking after their staff both during their working life and into their retirement.
Those days are long gone. Many of the younger generation have multiple jobs throughout their working life and the onus is very much on the employee to plan for their retirement. Although employers must offer a pension scheme, there is no compulsion for the employee to join, or contribute, despite pension pots being more transportable between different employers. With low wages and the cost of living ever increasing, it is no wonder people put providing for their old age at the bottom of their list. The state pension, is getting further and further out of reach, with the state retirement age creeping upwards towards 70, meaning not planning for retirement could mean working for around 50 years of your life!
I do feel very privileged to have been in a position where my Company enrolled me onto the pension scheme from an early age. Despite the goal posts being moved several times in the last 10 years, had I not have had that advantage, I would still be in the world of work and probably heading towards alcoholism!
Having worked in the financial industry for 35 years, budgeting and saving became second nature. We had also been planning our escape for several years and conscious that we would have a few years before state retirement age, had been putting funds aside to ease the impact. However I worked part time for the last 20 years and we both drew our work based pensions four years early, so our lump sums were not as big as they could have been and our monthly income slightly reduced. Having watched the state retirement age moving upwards, were aware our accumulated pot had to last us for ten years. So we continue to budget, probably a little more carefully these days, and prioritise where we want to spend our pennies. The Grandkids will be getting a little less spent on their birthday and Christmas presents than they have been used to.
There are lots of other things to consider. Interest rates are still very low and its a juggling act making your everyday money work hard for you. The stock market is a bit jittery as we head towards Brexit date, so long term investments can also be a little up and down. But so far our planning has paid off and we are managing the juggling and having a ball.
We are also living in a somewhat throw away society, and we have to think about items we may need to repair or replace within the house, of which there are many, with four boys charging around! Hopefully most of these will be minor and can be saved for, unless we decide to do something radical like refurb the kitchen.
Our only anticipated major expense, will be a new car once our current PCP expires, but there seems to be lots of deals out there. We will do lots of research and with everyone vying for our business, I’m sure we will find something suitable.
So if you are looking to escape the rat race, start making your financial getaway plan, make it realistic and stick to it. It’s amazing how quickly time passes and as your plans come to fruition we look forward to seeing you on the other side, enjoying retirement.
I fear for the generations following on. Too many think retirement is so far away they don’t need to worry yet, or they mistakenly think the state will look after them in later life. So please encourage your kids and grandkids to start saving into their pension fund as early as possible. Teach them how to budget, to enable them, to live with the minimum amount of debt, to be able to enjoy life and help make their dreams come true.
🍀🍀. Wishing all our future retirement buddies 🍀🍀
🍀🍀. good luck with your planning. 🍀 🍀
