Is a pension the only way to save for retirement?

Acumen is regularly asked for advice about the best way to plan for retirement and whether pensions are the only form of investment. Within this blog Angela Maher offers some advice on different types of investments when considering retirement and adds “it’s never too soon to start planning!”

Pensions in retirement

We sometimes get asked about whether a pension within retirement is the only way to provide with income and of course it isn’t. It is still the only investment that is specifically designed to produce income in retirement but there are lots of other investments that we will recommend to complement our clients’ retirement funds.

When do you plan for retirement?

When we are helping to plan for a secure and happy retirement, we recommend that our clients build up funds in different “pots”. We would also advise that it is never too early to start to think about planning for retirement, we recommend that clients speak to an adviser at least 2 years prior to when they plan to retire.

Different types of investments for retirement

Cash lump sums in deposit accounts for that rainy day money, perhaps a spur of the minute holiday, a new car and sometimes, rather less enjoyable things such as private medical or dental treatment.

Investments that are not in pension funds such as:

• ISAs
• Share portfolios
• Investment bonds
• National Savings

These can all form part of the retirement picture providing the prospect of genuine, inflation-beating growth in real terms. They are all taxed differently and so can be extremely efficient if they are used in the right way – that’s where our specialist retirement planning service adds real value.

If you would like to speak to one of retirement specialist regarding your retirement plan, please contact 0151 520 4353 or info@acumenfinancial.co.uk.