If there is anything that the last few years have taught us, is that there is no traditional way of doing things anymore. Rigid black and white has morphed into grey.

The financial services industry has had to adapt or die. Even more so with retirement plans.

There is no longer just the traditional option of retiring at 65 and then living a comfortable retirement. So many factors have influenced modern retirement plans. 

The most important is that defined benefit schemes are being replaced by defined contribution schemes. This has greatly reduced pension values in recent years. Also, 

• People are living longer, and retirement years are now extended
• Pension pots cannot cope with this lengthened retirement
• Financially, most will run out of retirement funds

These factors have brought about a new form of retirement. The partial retirement lifestyle. 

Many reaching retirement cannot retire because they do not have enough saved up. 

Working a few extra years, could build that pension pot enough to retire on. For those able to stay on at their current workplace on a contract basis, that’s great, but for those who are not as fortunate, they could consider possibly asking to work part time. It helps with income and you won’t have to dig too much into your retirement savings yet.

On the flip side, this partial retirement could also work for those who feel like they still have much to contribute or don’t want to stop working. This could mean 

• staying on at your employer for a few more years
• turning a hobby into a small business
• doing part time charity work or volunteering
• turning your retirement situation into a business opportunity e.g. offering tours or a shuttle service for tourists

Partial retirement is a very real reality that many will be faced with. Hopefully your partial retirement will be by choice and not forced upon you. It is important that you chat to your adviser to help put plans in place to prevent a forced partial retirement situation. [email protected]

 Please note, the above is for education purposes only and does not constitute advice. You should always contact your Acuma deVere adviser for a personal consultation.
* No liability can be accepted for any actions taken or refrained from being taken, as a result of reading the above.