According to official figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions back in November, of the 1.1m people who receive the New State Pension, only 44% (or just under 500,000 pensioners) receive the full amount of £168.60 a week, or £8767.20 a year.
Under the old system, around two-thirds of retirees received the full entitlement. This could mean that many retirees are set for a shock when they eventually leave the workforce.
Saving for the future
Rather than relying on the government to fund my retirement income, I’m building my own private savings pot.
Over the past few decades, the government has introduced a range of tools to help people save for retirement. These tools include tax-free savings wrappers and regulations to help private providers manage private pensions.
These regulations have set off a price war with private pension providers, which has been a boon for savers. The cost of managing a private pension has now dropped dramatically, and it does not look as if this trend is going to come to an end any time soon.
The best way to grow your money over the long term is to invest. SIPPs allow you to do that without racking up any additional tax obligations as any income or capital gains earned within a SIPP is tax-free, although you will have to pay tax on any money withdrawn.
Investing for growth
The investing strategy that I’m using to save for the future is relatively straightforward. Rather than trying to pick single stocks, I’m relying on a combination of tracker funds. A portfolio split 50/50 between FTSE 100, and FTSE 250 trackers gives me exposure to the UK’s fastest-growing companies and a collection of global blue-chips.
Over the past few decades, I calculate that this simple portfolio has produced a return for investors in the region of 9%, which is enough to turn a simple investment of £200 a month into a pension pot worth £370k over three decades.
A pot of £370k might not seem like a tremendous amount of money, but this would be enough to produce an annual income of £14,800, that’s nearly double the current rate of State Pension.
The bottom line
So that’s how I’m planning to avoid problems with the State Pension in later life. Rather than waiting to see if I qualify for the full State Pension amount, I’ve started saving today to prepare for the future.
If my calculations are correct, I should be able to retire on a basic income of £14,800 and any additional income I receive on top of that will be a bonus.
The best thing about this saving and investing strategy is that it does not take a massive amount of time, effort or money to set up. All you need to do is set up a regular investing plan, sit back and let the market do the hard work for the next 30 years.
