Planning for retirement is something most of us avoid like the plague. Conversely, many of us worry if we will *ever* have enough to retire. But there is a quickfire solution to both those conundrums that won’t cost the Earth…

Did you know that the average time that we spend between retiring and shuffling off this mortal coil is around 20 years? Bearing in mind that the State Pension is a pretty basic “safety net” of around £9,000 a year, how much money do you think you’ll need to put aside on top of that to give you a comfortable last 20 years of your life?

The most recent research shows that a “comfortable” lifestyle for a single person in retirement means spending £19,000 a year; £30,000 for a luxurious one. The equivalent figures for couples are £25,000 and £40,000.

To give you that £25,000 a year, including a full State Pension, you’d need a pension pot of at least £250,000. For £40,000, make that well over £450,000.

Think you’re on track to do that? Even if you have to take early retirement, or reduce your work commitments in the last years of work? And what happens if you need to go into care?

A recent report issued a stark warning that up to three quarters of savers are at risk of running out of funds during their retirement years – and having to fall back on the State Pension. Among the key findings of New Choices, Big Decisions, jointly published by workplace pension provider The People’s Pension and asset manager State Street Global Advisors, are:

• Savers are scared of planning for the future as they don’t want to discover the “truth”.
• They underestimate the financial risk of growing old and don’t understand how inflation can impact their savings.

Half the problem is that retirement is so far in the distance (and receding for many people!) that it’s something you can always put off until tomorrow. The other half of the problem is that it can seem complicated to work out just how much we will need in retirement.

Yes, you can hire the services of an IFA, but not everyone wants to do that, or feels their measly pension pot justifies the fee.

So, are YOUR savings on track to last your through retirement?

Whether you are heading into or already in retirement, the simple (and low-cost) way to check whether you are on target for a comfortable retirement is to use an online retirement cash flow planner. The most advanced one available to consumers is the Retireeasy.co.uk online planner, which does all of the sort of calculations as the programs used by financial professionals… but at a fraction of the cost.

Key in your current situation, your savings and when you hope to retire, plus how much you think you’ll need in retirement, and it does all the sums for you.

In minutes you’ll have an easy-to-understand analysis of your situation, allowing you to make informed choices about your future savings and spending…. You can even run a series of different scenarios to check out different ways in which your future plans would be affected by, say, downsizing, inheriting money or helping someone through University.

Described by “The Holy Grail” of retirement planning, the program costs from just £2.99 a month. You can find out more here: www.retireeasy.co.uk

Taking control of the last 20 years of your life has got to be worth an hour of your time now…