How To Increase Your Standard Of Living For Your Retirement

With the UK’s retirement age being 66, there’s still a lot of life left in retired people which is why you must do all you can to increase your standard of living once you come out of employment.

Key Advice’s CEO has recently stated that:

“While national insurance contributions cease when you retire, you still need to pay income tax and council tax so it pays to budget for these bills as part of your retirement planning. If you haven’t accounted for tax within your budgeting, losing almost 14% of your household income can have a significant impact on your standard of living throughout retirement.”

This shows that you have to do more to ensure that you are living more than comfortably in your retirement and here are the best ways to do just that.

Look into getting equity release on your home

This is a financial product for people aged 55-95 which allows you to release some of the cash tied up in the value of your home which can then be spent on other areas of your life as you prepare for retirement. The most popular form of this method is with an equity release mortgage which can be easily obtainable as long as you qualify.

This equity release can be done with one lump sum or can be done more frequently in a smaller amount allowing you to budget your release better.

Invest from a younger age

Start thinking about your future today by investing your hard-earned money into different stocks. Trading on the stock market can be difficult but once you know how to start trading stocks and shares, you’ll find it’s easier than it looks and you can start earning now.

Stocks and shares aren’t the only types of investment you can do however with cryptocurrencies rising in popularity or you could opt for a more traditional route and invest in property.

Set budgets and savings targets

The age-old solution to retaining more money. Saving. This is the easiest way to save as long as you can resist the urge to spend your cash.

Create budgets for food, housing or entertainment for example and don’t spend more than your budget entails and you’ll find your bank balance will look healthier and healthier each month as you save towards a happy retirement.

Increase your pension payments

Depending on your employer, you may have the option to increase the amount you pay into your pension each month. Select a higher percentage and you’ll find yourself naturally budgeting around your new pension plan.

There is a lot that you can do to save money to increase your standard of living once you retire. The complicated options aren’t so complicated once you understand the processes.