Can I Retire?

As a financial adviser, I work with a lot of clients nearing their later years. During our most recent quarterly evaluations of their investments, I was asked by quite a few of them whether their retirement plans needed to be altered due to economic developments.

‘Can I still take early retirement?’
‘Should I push the retirement date back?’
‘Should I be doing less than I planned in retirement?’
‘Do I need to go back to work?’

The current instability due to the biggest fear of investment markets – the uncertainty of the immediate future – has created headlines, reports and conversations that would cause even the most confident investor to review their financial situation.

As a result, I have had clients about to embark on a new chapter of their lives contact me to ask if they should be taking a step back from the brink, or changing what they were planning to do.

Good financial planning is fluid, flexible and, above all, responsive. When I show my clients the ‘buffers’ we have built into their plans to help withstand negative impact, I can see their confidence begin to return and none of them has felt the need to make any changes.

Here are my top five things to think about before deciding if you need to make any changes to your retirement plans:

• RESOURCES: How much have you saved, where is it and what income can it provide?
• PLANS: What do you want this income to cover and for how long?
• RETIREMENT: When do you want to finish work? 3 years? 15 years?
• THE FIT: Do steps 1 – 3 work together?
• PRIORITISE: If not, which are you prepared to change?

It is also worth bearing in mind that, in good times and bad, very few people feel ready to retire. Very rarely does an investment income equal the previous salary, but good financial planning should mean you have fewer financial responsibilities and commitments to cover at that stage in life.

In good times and bad, there is always an element of taking a deep breath, jumping into that pool and taking a few moments to adjust to the change in temperature before realising you are enjoying the swim.

The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select, and the value can therefore go down as well as up.  You may get back less than you invested.