Well done for thinking about it now. You’d be surprised how many people don’t face this situation until they’re over 65. Happily you have time to build up more savings to enable you to have a good retirement.
Firstly, I spoke to a savings expert about this. Mike Ambery, Retirement Savings Director at Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, said: "It’s never too late to give your pension a boost.
"The first and most obvious course of action is to increase your pension contributions, assuming you’re still working. Employers will often match any increase, it’s tax efficient and you still have time to benefit from any compound investment growth.
"It’s also worth reviewing your existing savings and checking how they are invested - make sure your savings are working as hard as they can for you. You should also consider your selected retirement date, as some pensions start to move your savings into lower-risk investments as you approach retirement.
"If you plan to work for longer, this might not align with your goals, so it’s worth reviewing. You might also want to explore other ways to supplement your pension savings, such as cash savings, ISAs or part-time work in retirement.
Do you have a money story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing money@gbnews.uk.
Jasmine Birtles answers questions from GB News members in the exclusive pensions and retirement Q&AJASMINE BIRTLES | GETTY"The key is to take action as soon as you can, as small changes today could have a big impact in the future. For a full picture, it’s worth remembering the rules around the state pension.
"Currently, you’ll be able to claim it from 67 (rising to 68 for younger generations), and the full new state pension is currently around £11,500 per year.
"You can check your state pension forecast on the Government website to see how much you’re on track to receive and whether you have any gaps in your National Insurance record that could be filled."
The website he mentions is Gov.uk and you can check your state pension status here.
I’m personally a big fan of working when you are retired. There are so many interesting ways to do it from being a consultant to being a dog walker, house sitter, doula or market trader.
For ideas of what you could do, and also what you could earn from them, take a look at this article on my website about ways that over-60s can earn money.
In fact, when you look at the ideas above, you might like to consider starting some now as a side-earner and using the money you make to boost your investments.
Even if you got into something occasional like running a car boot stall once a month on a Saturday, you could come away with £200 and if that went into a stocks and shares ISA each month, by the time you were 65, assuming average annual growth of seven per ecnt you would have an extra £34,818.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
- Gold sovereigns: The hidden tax benefits you could be missing amid Trump's tariff threats and economic instability
- ISAs explained: A deep dive into tax-free savings amid calls for reform
- 'My inheritance tax bill has multiplied by 4 overnight. How can I avoid leaving my children with this huge bill?' Jasmine Birtles's six ways to reduce bill
Even from an early age, Britons want their pension savings to go further
GETTYIf you have a spare room in your home it’s worth renting that out now to boost your income.
You could just do it on an occasional basis through Airbnb or have foreign students in for a couple of weeks at a time. It doesn’t have to be a full-time thing.
Basically the more you can put away at this stage, the better for you going forward and the less you will need to earn once you are officially retired.
Jasmine Birtles is the founder and editor of MoneyMagpie.com
