How to create a retirement plan in 15 minutes

Retirement planning is something that everyone needs to do at some point. The earlier you can start the planning, the better your chances of achieving financial security for yourself and your family.

To plan for retirement properly you will need to invest more than 15 minutes. However, this blog will outline the basic framework of retirement planning.

Stage 1 – Ask yourself ‘what age would I like to have the option not to work?’

Pay careful attention to the wording of this question. The idea of successful retirement planning is that you can stop working on your terms and not when you simply have to. It is much easier to stay disciplined when you have a goal in sight.

Stage 2 – Develop an understanding of how much your retirement will cost

Everyone’s retirement goals will look different. You may have modest or lavish objectives for your golden years. It is important at an early stage you work out what your costs may look like. When surveyed 7/10 people claimed retiring as an expat turned out to be ‘significantly more expensive than expected’.

A second consideration is of course inflation. Each year currencies in developed markets devalue by roughly 3%. Let’s imagine you are intending to retire in 15 years on £40,000 in today’s money, you will require £62,320 in 15 years due to the powers of inflation.

Stage 3 – Understand what current benefits you have amassed

In order to construct a solid retirement plan, you must understand what you already have in place. For British expats, the obvious place to start will be exploring your national insurance (state pension) along with your workplace pension. Our advisors can assist you with uncovering your pensions in countries such as Switzerland & the UK.

Stage 4 – Investigate the most efficient places to save and grow your capital

Once you’ve worked out the size of how much you need to save, you will need to find a suitable place to invest it. If you leave your money in the bank you are guaranteed to lose 3% each year to the power of inflation. You must look to firstly beat inflation, but also look to compound gains over time through investing. Our team of advisors can assist with this stage of the process by suggesting tax-efficient savings vehicles.

Stage 5 – Form your plan & stick to it

Once you’ve mapped out your saving requirement & the investment tools you will use, you need to stick to the plan. This is often the hardest part of the process and requires ongoing discipline.

Alternatively, you can click here and speak to a qualified professional who will help you setup your goals and how to achieve them.