The Five Ages of Financial Planning: 60-75 Sailing into the Sunset

You spend the majority of your lifetime working to allow you to pay your mortgage, live an enjoyable life with your loved ones and invest in your pension for when you reach retirement age.

From starting out on your financial planning journey to moving onwards and upwards with a family or your mortgage and winding up and winding down to really consider retirement planning, the five ages of financial planning are crucial to consider.

Although there is no mandatory retirement age in the UK, you can access your private and workplace pensions from the age of 55, but this is set to increase in following years. The State Pension age also increases and is currently at 66, but expected to rise to 67 within the next two years.

Therefore, you should begin your personal financial planning journey as early as possible to ensure you can build a comfortable retirement for yourself and provide for your beneficiaries as you wish. Working with a financial planner and maintaining a relationship with your adviser can improve your financial outlook for your retirement.

What financial matters might you face at this point in your life?

For many years leading up to this time in your life, you may have asked yourself “how can I retire early?” and sought the professional advice and support of a financial adviser to provide insight into your financial situation and making the best use of your income to plan for your future.

When you do retire, it is important to ensure that your income is flexible and your retirement planning over the years has reflected your wishes for this time. For example, when you first retire, you might wish to do many of the things you have always wanted to do, from visiting children or grandchildren to visiting places on your bucket list. Whatever you have been planning to do in retirement, you must remember that there are cost implications which must be built into your expenditure plans.

Once you settle into retirement, it is likely that your health may not be as good as it once was, or you simply wish to enjoy the peace that comes along with retirement. Your income requirements may decrease, especially if you paid off your mortgage when you were winding up and winding down, but this fluctuates from person to person.

During your peak years of personal financial planning, you may have focused on managing your money to maximise your finances for a comfortable later life or protecting you and your family’s financial future. You may have also invested in buying and improving property to increase funds which can help with later life planning and meeting the cost of care.

All of these areas can be complex to understand and navigate without the support of an expert financial adviser. At Perspective Financial Group Limited, our local offices consist of professional financial planners who can provide you with tailored personal financial planning solutions which can support you in your later life.

Why might you seek financial planning advice?

There are three common reasons why people seek financial planning advice:

• You have a specific financial need, like considering owning a home or receiving unexpected inheritance from a relative
• You have an issue and think you benefit from expert advice, like if you have some spare money that you’d like to use to help your children
• You want peace of mind that you are making the best use of your finances, like making use of tax or ISA allowances or effectively funding your retirement.

The success of your retirement will very often come down to your state of mind. You might ask yourself, “is it the start of something great or the start of the end?” or “is it a time when you start doing something or a time when you stop doing something?”

The more positive you feel about your retirement and the more time you invest in personal financial planning ahead of retiring, the better your retirement will be.

Just because you have reached your retirement doesn’t mean you need to stop long-term financial planning. Two key factors must remain front and centre when considering financial planning throughout your retirement:

• Your income needs to be protected against inflation
• Your income needs to outlast you

By working with a financial adviser from one of our regulated local offices, you can ensure that your money meets both of these factors to ensure your retirement is comfortable but protected, and your money can be given to your beneficiaries as you wish once you pass away.

Preparing for your financial future

HMRC describes retirement as one of the most complicated periods of your taxation life. You must ensure you take advantage of all relevant allowances to enable you to draw income as efficiently as possible. Since Perspective Financial Group Limited is the parent company of several FCA authorised and regulated local offices, our expert financial advisers can provide you with the guidance you need to understand your allowances and maximise your income.

Whilst considering income provision as part of your personal financial planning approach, especially after you have focused on retirement planning and inheritance tax planning over the years by working with a financial adviser, you should also consider:

• your succession plans: your Will covers the main aspects, but your executors must have a general understanding of what goes where
• your health: since health issues are a concern for your future, you must consider the implications of you not being able to manage your own affairs due to physical or mental impairment
• your care: assets are treated very differently when managing any potential requirements for future care
• your inheritance tax implications: this is an important aspect to consider and plan for because without proper planning, it can be a costly mistake to you and those who inherit your wealth

Planning ahead may seem daunting, but ongoing personal financial planning can support both you and your family. By obtaining support from the regulated financial advisers based at one of our locations across the UK, you can ensure you are comfortable with your income for retirement.

Choose Perspective’s financial planners to support you

Perspective Financial Group Limited is the parent company of several financial advice firms located across the UK who provide personal financial planning advice and support to our clients.

Regardless of your age or financial situation, working with a financial adviser can be extremely beneficial for the future of yourself and your family. We can support you with staying vigilant about financial scams and discuss why financial planning is invaluable. Our financial advisers are based at our local, regulated firms and provide expert financial advice and planning services, all authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

We have created a leaflet-style document including this information, which you can read here.

If you are looking to work with a financial adviser to support your retirement and your family, search our locations to find your closest local office.