What does retirement mean to you? Today it’s true to say it means many things to different people – it’s no longer a case of one size fits all. For some it’s the opportunity of a lifetime to travel far and wide, while others take up or spend more time on a hobby or start the business they always dreamed of. Many simply want to spend more time with family and friends.
At Standard Life, we’ve been finding out how people feel about their retirement. What are their hopes for the future and how have those who’ve recently retired found the change of moving on from work into retirement?
What people have been saying confirms that retirement really can be one of the most liberating and exciting life stages. In retirement, they’re busy living their post-work lives to the full in a whirl of socialising, fitness classes and travel that could give 20-somethings a run for their money.
They just don’t feel they fit the image of what a stereotypical pensioner ‘looks’ like.
In the first year of retirement, putting their feet up and relaxing is not what they have in mind. The most popular activities people take up are:
- Planning more holidays and travelling (58%)
- Spending more quality time doing things with family and friends (48%)
- Doing more exercise and sport (23%)
- Doing voluntary work (23%)
- Starting a new hobby (22%).
It’s little surprise that enjoying a busy lifestyle later in life doesn’t always come cheap and planning ahead couldn’t be more important when it comes to having enough to live the life we want in retirement.
The good news is most of those who’ve retired don’t have to rely on the state pension alone and many say they are comfortable with their financial situation as they enter retirement.
The new pension freedoms have opened up a world of new possibilities for those who now have the choice to take pension money from the age of 55 but to get the most out of the changes, it’s important to plan ahead. These new freedoms provide a good opportunity for people to really think about their finances and the options available to them.
At Standard Life we’ve developed a range of online tools and guides to help you prepare so you can approach – and live – your retirement with confidence, including our Pensions Calculator, which can help you understand what you might need to give you the retirement you’ve always hoped for.
It’s important to know that a pension is an investment. Its value can go up or down and may be worth less than was paid in.
By Julie Hutchison, Consumer Finance Expert, Standard Life Savings
To find out more about Standard Life Savings, visit www.standardlife.co.uk.
