RETIREMENT PLANS BEFORE ITS TOO LATE 50+

TODAY’S BLOG

50+ SLEEPWALKING TO RETIREMENT NIGHTMARE

A growing number of people are at risk of being unable to afford a decent standard of living after retirement, according to a new report released this month. The report, ‘What is an adequate retirement income?’ estimates a quarter of people approaching retirement, the equivalent to five million people, are at risk of missing out on the income they need.

The report by the Pensions Policy Institute, sponsored by the Centre for Ageing Better, warns millions of people between the age of 50 and the State Pension Age are running out of time to prepare financially for retirement. That’s about 11 million people.

  • Around 3 million will not receive a minimum income
  • Around 5 million will not receive a personally acceptable income
  • Around 10 million will not receive a comfortable income

As a reminder, someone turning 50 this year would have been born in 1971, the year that T-Rex had a summer hit single “Get It On”, Clive Dunn was number 1 with “Grandad” and Rod Stewart “Maggie May”. The year that Gary Barlow, Clare Balding, Amanda Holden, Charlie Brooker, Ewan McGregor and David Tennant were all born, I doubt any of these will have a pension problem, but the majority of those born before 1971 look set to do so. It was also the year that the great David Hockney (83 and still working) completed one of his most famous works “Mr & Mrs Clark and Percy” (below) You can see Hockney’s work “The Arrival of Spring, Normandy 2020” at the Royal Academy until 26 September 2021.

Hockney 1971 Mr & Mrs Clark & Percy

PAIN IS COMING FOR THE UNPREPARED

The research found a low state pension, increasing unemployment and the transition to workplace pension schemes reliant on employee contributions are all factors leading to this risk. It warns this is an immediate cause of concern for those currently in their 50s and 60s. Not only that, but generations to come also risk being pushed into poverty if action isn’t taken to address financial insecurity in retirement, the report warned. It found 90 percent of people of all ages with Defined Contribution pensions may be at risk of falling short on their expected retirement income.

Despite recent measures such as auto-enrolment having resulted in more people saving into their workplace pensions, savers aged over 50 spend less time in auto-enrolment schemes and consequently benefit less. Most pension contributions remain inadequate, and challenges for savers have been exacerbated by COVID-19. The report also highlighted that those aged over 50 had the highest redundancy rate during the pandemic and warns that this age group is more likely than younger groups to experience long-term unemployment.

Worryingly, increasing job losses and unemployment levels may result in the generation currently approaching retirement being pushed out of work and left with a pension that does not provide them a decent standard of living. The report calls for a new consensus on what adequacy means, urging the Government to build a consensus between employers, industry, unions and individual stakeholders on what an adequate income in retirement is. Furthermore, Ageing Better is calling on employers to match workplace pension contributions at a higher rate, as well as better support for groups at risk of financial insecurity.

Hopefully your financial plan demonstrates that you will have enough or you know what the future looks like and have a plan to do something about it. However, I do want to labour this point… many of your peers, friends and family are unlikely to be as well prepared as you. Whether its Mr & Mrs Clark or Smith, the vet bills for Percy will be fairly unwelcome in retirement. So please urge them to get some advice, send them this blog post in an email and tell them to get in touch with us. I know the pictures of you finally out and about enjoying normal life after lockdown are all good to share, but do your real friends a favour, share our details with them! We can help prepare them for the future, making the most of the remaining time.

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Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk 
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk    Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

RETIREMENT PLANS BEFORE ITS TOO LATE 50+2023-12-01T12:13:07+00:00

Black Mirror – Nosedive

Black Mirror – Nosedive

The new series of Black Mirror has been released (21 October 2016) on Netflix and is a bit of a cross between Tales of the Unexpected and The Twilight Zone…. Remember them? If you do, then there is a fair chance that you will have had more than your fair share of adopting new technology over the years and Black Mirror is a small leap of the imagination into a future that is almost within our reach.

Nosedive, the first episode of the new series from the writer Charlie Brooker provides plenty of food for thought for those of us that use social media. Irrespective of who you are, there is something very satisfying about having a post or tweet “liked” or “retweeted” – a sense that you are being heard. Of course for small and large business, your social media marketing strategy is all about trying to engage people, both prospective clients and existing ones. This blog is no different.

Brooker draws out attention to the insatiable underlying desire for approval that underpins this and reflects a future society (not very much in the future) where “service with a smile” and the constant demand for ratings and feedback result in desperate collective anxiety and need to fake it in order to gain approval. Not only approval, but the point-scoring system acts as the new form of societal sorting and classification of us all.

image of Lacie, the lead character practicing her smile, current score 4.243
image of Lacie, the lead character practicing her smile, current score 4.243
image of Lacie, the lead character practicing her smile, current score 4.243

Are you getting feedback?

I thoroughly enjoyed his take on this rather dystopian future, of a world addicted to handsets and a numbing or removing of real experiences and interactions. I’m sure that if you shop online, you now get a request for some feedback. As with many things this was intended to be for our good – a chance to engage and improve services, yet it has become so widespread it now simply feels needy, like some spoiled child constantly asking for approval.

Here at Solomons are guilty of this too. We ask for feedback and comments – and for you to share posts, tweets and so on. This is now all part of helping spread the word about the business and how we help clients, how we bring value. That said, it can become very irritating (hence we try to limit our “neediness”).

Rage against the machine

I guess this reflects the changing nature of relationships between us all and the organisations that we use. Seeing people rant online, whether about Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton, Southern Rail or Brexit is at least raw and exposing, of course great care needs to be taken, but in Nosedive, we are faced with a “sanitized” society where genuine emotion, thought or comment is parked firmly out of sight, to the point where who you are seen to be and with are more important than who you are.

At least here in 2016 we continue to help our clients verbalise and express their true values, not simply those that are deemed “acceptable”. Its funny how often I ask people when they plan to retire and they invariably say 65 – which used to be the default State pension age, as though this is an appropriate “date”. The truth is that you can “retire” whenever you want – or not at all and why here at Solomons we prefer to use the term financial freedom day – when you choose to work, not because you have to, but because you want to.

Here’s a bit about Nosedive.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

Black Mirror – Nosedive2023-12-01T12:19:02+00:00
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