Retirement planning

Retirement means something different to everyone. Your Fairstone adviser will work with you to establish what you want your retirement to look like. Once you have a clear idea of when and how you want to retire, your financial planner will support you in creating the most tax-efficient way to reach your end goal. This support continues well into your retirement to make sure you maintain the level of income you need to fund your lifestyle.

It’s never too early to start planning for your retirement. The sooner you determine your end goals, the sooner you can establish the most efficient and effective plans to ensure you achieve them.

How much you need to fund your retirement depends entirely on you and your lifestyle. Your Fairstone wealth manager will undertake cash flow modelling with you to establish your current income and expenditure. Together you can use this information to map out your retirement needs.

As life expectancy rates continue to rise, most of us will need retirement funds that last upwards of 30 years. The sooner you start planning, the more likely it is that you will achieve the retirement you hope for.

A financial adviser can help you:

• Work out what your retirement looks like
• Provide a pension comparison to find the best deal for you
• Calculate how much you’ll need to fund your goals
• Build a flexible plan around your specific needs that maximises your retirement income and minimises fees and charges to allow you to transition into retirement
• Consolidate disparate pension pots to increase control and improve the overall performance
• Regularly review your retirement plan to make sure it still works for your personal circumstances and that it remains tax-efficient
• Manage your income even after you retire

A company pension is a pension where an employer is able to contribute money towards a pension for you. These pensions can have different rules and structures where a specific percentage of your salary is contributed and you may also have to contribute. You can also contribute at your discretion under normal pension contributions rules.

If you leave a job, you can take your pension benefits with you if you’ve been working with that company for a certain number of years.

If you’re an employer interested in initiating a scheme for your staff, it’s important to know your obligations and options around these important schemes.

Your pension plans are not the only investments you can use to build funds and save for your retirement. You may have additional assets, such as individual financial assets like AVCs, savings, investment portfolios, etc.

Seeking professional financial advice could help you to make the most of your assets, providing an overview of your finances and in turn a better idea of how much you can expect to receive at retirement, in line with your goals and objectives. Please contact us to discuss your retirement planning options.

There are currently €500 million or more of unclaimed pension benefits in Ireland today. You might be entitled to some of that so ask Fairstone to track down your old pension and get you back on track with your savings for retirement.

Bear in mind that the Irish state pension provides only a basic income and the predictions are that the state pension age will increase which is why having your own personal pension is so important.