PENSIONS – THINKING AHEAD

A survey done recently by the consumer group, “Which”, has provided some useful information about thinking ahead to retirement by establishing what a minimum level of pension income provision would be in retirement and how much savings would be needed to achieve it. The survey showed that 59% of people who are not yet retired do not know how much pension they need to accumulate in order to live comfortably in retirement. By further survey they established that the average minimum level of pension income people estimated they would require in retirement at today’s values would be about £15,136 per annum. With the basic State Pension currently providing £110.15 per week, that would leave a shortfall of about £9,408 per annum - £784 per month. As a guideline the survey shows how much per month would be needed to make up this shortfall depending on the starting age. For a 25-year-old it is £214 per month, a 35-year-old £324 per month, and a 45-year-old £581 per month. Sadly the survey also showed that 46% of people who have not yet retired are making no effort to save for retirement.

The Value of Experience and Expertise!

By survey what you want from us is our advice on financial matters, utilising our extensive knowledge and long experience going back over 30 years. We enjoy helping in this way and continuing to assist our clients and their friends and their children. Those that have used us do know they can rely on us again and again. In recent service questionnaires when asked why they chose to use Sovereign Finance we received answers such as the following: “We dealt with Sovereign Finance before and found them of good service, reliable and honest. Always.” Mr GS of Ashford “Thank you so much for making it all happen so fast. Brilliant!” Mrs SR of London “Mr Shuster is dedicated to getting the right result.” Mrs HT of West Sussex “We had previously used Sovereign and had confidence in the advice given. We expected a good service and that’s what we got.” Mr KH of Eastbourne “The service I received was excellent with regular correspondence and home visits. Good work. Keep it up”! Mr MB of Pembury

Savings/Investment Tips

1. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. 2. Do your homework. 3. Don’t gamble with money you can’t afford to lose. 4. Don’t be greedy. Expecting very high returns can expose you to very high risks. 5. Invest for the Long-Term. 6. Include tax planning in working out your savings and investments.

Financial Checklist

When reviewing your finances, here are some points to consider: 1. You need to arrange your income and expenditure to ensure you have more coming in than going out! 2. Save for a rainy day. You need to build up a surplus. 3. Virtually everyone should make a will. It is estimated that 30 million people in the UK have not done so! 4. Review your finances (including your mortgage rate and your savings interest rates) at least once a year. 5. Plan ahead. The odds are that you are going to live a long life and you need to plan how you will pay your bills when you no longer are able/want to work. 6. Take professional advice when dealing with major financial decisions – house-buying, pension arrangements, long term savings.