Approaching retirement
If you're approaching retirement, it's important to start thinking about what you want it to look like and how you're going to fund it.
Think about your retirement goals
Do you want to retire in the near future, or are you thinking about the next 10 or 20 years? Do you plan to spend your time travelling the world, or are you looking forward to a slower pace of life? Having an idea of when you want to retire and what you want retirement to look like will help you understand how much you need to have saved and how much you still need to tuck away.
Know where you stand today
Having an idea of how much your retirement savings are worth is an important part of planning for your retirement.
Some key points to keep in mind:
- The new State Pension for 2024/25 is £11,502.40
- The Retirement Living Standards suggests a moderate income in retirement is £31,300 per year for a single person living outside of London - this doesn't include housing costs like rent or mortgage
- It might be helpful to have all your pension pots in one place. It's not right for everyone - you could lose some important benefits or end up paying higher fees. Our article on tracking down lost pension pots explains more
Your options for accessing your pension pot and the tax you might pay
You can start drawing your workplace or personal pension at 55 (rising to 57 from April 2028). If you get close to your chosen retirement age and decide you don't want to take your money yet, you can delay taking money from your pension pot.
Once you decide you want to start taking a retirement income from your pension savings, you need to think about what that looks like. You might want to learn more about how your income will be taxed as well. We've shared useful guides to explain how all this works below.
Retirement planner
Next steps
- If you're over 50, make an appointment with Pension Wise, a free and impartial government guidance service.
- If you think you need to speak to a financial adviser you can find one at Unbiased - you'll probably need to pay for their advice.
- Check when you'll be able to claim the new State Pension and your State Pension forecast at gov.uk.