Mortgage : Home Loans : Refinance : Home Equity Loans

By Ruth Polak

As we live longer healthier lives retirement planning takes on a new
meaning and is of vital importance if you are to enjoy a happy and
healthy retirement. No longer need it be a time of inactivity engendered
by a feeling of uselessness. Rather, many of today’s senior citizens, enjoy
active, productive and enjoyable lives.

It is the time when you can take up all those hobbies you never had time for,
travel more, maybe move to an area you always wanted to live in but couldn’t due to work
restraints,spend more time with your family, enjoy your garden and just
generally spend each day doing something you find pleasurable rather than
having to go to work.

Of course it can be a wrench to leave your job and colleagues. A feeling of
worthlessness can settle in as the sense of “being someone” is no longer
there. However accept your retirement as the next and exciting part of
your life and make the most of it.

This is were retirement planning comes in and the earlier in life you start
this the better. All the pleasures of retirement can only be enjoyed
if your income is sufficient to support you and your spouse. In addition
it has to grow with inflation as people are living longer and longer
and obviously what supports you at 60 or 65 will not be adequate
at 80.

Retirement Planning- Pensions.

First and foremost you need to get a pension projection from both the
state pension department and also any private pension scheme you maybe a part of.
Take a look at the debts you have, including your mortgage, and see if it is possible
to clear these before retiring.

Generally speaking it is not felt that the state benefit provides an
adequate income for retiring and so it is important to look at private
pension plans, the government are in fact encouraging people to build
up their own pension funds with generous tax incentives.These make
the growth on the value of a pension fund tax free and allow some of
the fund to be drawn in the form of a tax free lump sum. In addition
any payments made by you qualify for tax relief. The majority of
pension plan types give tax relief at source which means that you
only pay the net amount (e.g., a £100 contribution costs you £78).

Of course the earlier you start your process of retirement planning the better
but even if you do not have a long time left to save for your retirement you should
still consider retirement planning. Recently there have
been many changes to the charging structures applied by the Pension
Providers. This means that even if the period until your retirement
is quite short you should still get a good overall return on the
money you invest.

You can get a state pension forecast target=”_blank”> here.

Retirement Planning-Your Health.

In order to enjoy a long and happy retirement your health is almost as important
as your money. Take stock of your general physical condition and improve it were you
can. Adopt a healthy lifestyle by eating nutritious, balanced meals and taking plenty
of exercise. If you take your health seriously and look after yourself it will pay
great dividends as you age.

In addition you may want to consider taking out some health insurance.
Whilst the NHS is there to take care of us we all know that the reality can

sometimes be very different, especially with regard to the time we may have to wait
for treatment, so this in itself could be a good reason to take out a
health insurance policy. In addition more and more people are target=”_blank”retiring abroad and so may want the peace of mind
of adequate private health insurance.

Another form of insurance you may wish to consider as part of your retirement
planning is long term care insurance. We are all living longer and
most of us look forward to long and active retirements. But with
longer life expectancy comes the increased possibility that we will
need help or care later in life. This help is often referred to as
long term care. Many people think the government will pay for their
long term care, and many get a shock that this is not the case. You
may for instance be forced to sell your house in order to pay for it so
an insurance policy to cover care costs could prove vital.

Retirement Planning-Moving House.

With the incredible rise in house prices that has taken place in recent years
many people find themselves in possession of a very valuable asset, their home.
As part of any sensible retirement plan consideration should be given
to selling this asset and moving to a smaller and cheaper property,
downsizing in current parlance, and thus releasing valuable equity that
can be invested to top up your pension. Alternatively there are various
equity release schemes which are worth looking into.

Many people are also considering retiring abroad. This of course has its pros and its
cons.A a full discussion of them in relation to retiring to Spain can be target=”_blank” read here.

Retirement Planning-Inheritance Tax.

Again due to the substantial house price rises more and more people will
find that their inheritors will be liable for inheritance tax. Careful
planning can help to avoid a lot of this however and consideration
needs to be given to transferring assets to your children whilst you are
still alive.

In conclusion then it is never to soon to start planning for
your retirement. The better off financially you are at that time
of life and the healthier you are the more you are going to be able
to enjoy it and make your retirement years some of the best years of your life.

Article submitted by
Ruth Polak the owner of target=”_blank”>www.costadelsol-vacationrentals.com. A web site specializing in holiday villas and
apartments on the Costa del Sol and in Rural Andalucia. You will also
find lots of information about Spain and Andalucia, in particular.

I am the owner of the web site http://www.coastadelsol-vacationrentals.com which specializes in holiday villas and apartments for rent on the Costa del Sol and Rural Andalucia in Southern Spain. My family and I have lived in the mountains near to the Andalucian village of Casares since 1991 and know the area well, so my site also includes lots of information about the area along with ideas of places to go and things to do whilst holidaying here.

http://www.costadelsol-vacationrentals.com

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 18th, 2007 at 10:32 pm and is filed under Refinance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.