Questions to ask yourself for a secure financial future
What impact does inflation have on my retirement plans?
Inflation is a major factor to consider when planning for your retirement as it can reduce the purchasing power of your money over time. If the amount you receive in retirement is based on a fixed income, it will not be able to keep up with future inflation rises.
Translation: you’ll likely be unable to afford the same lifestyle that you enjoyed before retirement.
It’s essential to plan for your retirement by ensuring that your savings and investments are able to grow in real terms, above the rate of inflation. This can be done through investing in assets that aim to provide returns above the rate of inflation, as well as ensuring that your retirement income is not based on a fixed amount.
What is my retirement timeline?
When it comes to planning for retirement, it’s best to get a plan in place far ahead of your intended retirement date, even if you don’t plan to retire for many years. Ideally, you should start saving in your 20s and 30s. This will help you to build savings over time and ensure there’s enough cash in the piggy bank to sustain yourself during retirement.
When considering your retirement timeline, there are several factors to take into account. Your age, income level and lifestyle will all have an effect on your retirement plans.
Could retirement cashflow modelling help me?
Retirement cash flow modelling is useful in making assessments about your future retirement requirements. It lets you consider all potential sources of income in retirement and how they can best be used to satisfy your expenditure needs. Cash flow modelling is fluid and can change alongside your circumstances.
There’s a few factors to consider here: your underlying investments, your tax and how well your different income streams are protected against inflation.
Would an Annuity be beneficial?
An Annuity basically provides a regular income for the rest of your life. It can ensure you have enough money to last throughout your retirement. With fewer employers offering the guarantee of a final salary pension, Annuities could be an appropriate option to consider for some retirees.
There’s a few different types of Annuity available, so it’s worth looking at the tax implications of each before making a decision.
Am I sitting on too much cash?
Even during periods of high inflation, investment in real assets is one of the best ways to safeguard your retirement against inflation. Cash holdings are ill-advised in this situation as the current interest rates barely meet inflation. Not to mention, the value is guaranteed to decrease.
Investing in real assets – property for example – can keep your retirement savings secure and provide you with the opportunity to create a sustainable and secure retirement plan.
What is my attitude to investment risk?
When making investment decisions, you need to establish the level of risk you’re comfortable with. This will vary from person to person, so getting professional retirement advice is a good move.
Knowing whether you’re conservative, balanced or aggressive when it comes to investing will help you make informed decisions about where to invest and how much risk you can take on. This will help you save and invest more effectively – to make the most of your retirement savings.
Do you need help with your retirement planning?
As the old saying goes: by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
Getting a head start with retirement planning will always serve you well. That being said, if you find yourself nearing retirement without a plan in place – we are here to help. We can help you optimise your retirement plans no matter how close you may be to that milestone.
At Oury Clark, we pride ourselves on straight talking advice that cuts through the jargon. Chat with a member of our team today to get the ball rolling.