Here are our top ten tips for retirement planning:
1. Get a Pension Forecast
You may have an age in mind of when you would like to retire, or it may be dependent on achieving a certain highlight in your career. Either way it is important to obtain a State Pension forecast before deciding when you would like to retire. This will give you an estimate of how much you might receive.
State Pension entitlement is determined by your National Insurance contributions. The forecast could bring peace of mind that you have contributed 35 years in full. It may also highlight any gap in National Insurance contributions.
2. Dig out all pension correspondence
It is likely over your lifetime that you may have worked for several companies. Thus resulting in you accruing pension pots with several providers. In order to create a retirement plan, you need to know the value of your pensions and what options are available to you.
If you feel you may have a pension for a previous employer but do not hold any paperwork, you can use the Pension Tracing Service for free.