We all dream of living the Life of Riley when the time comes to hang up our work gloves. It’s not just the hope of having more free time that the ‘9 to 5’ grind currently prevents us from having. It’s having the financial freedom to pursue your goals, helped (if not necessarily dependent upon) the State Pension.
There’s a growing wealth of evidence that suggests many of us will end up being left behind though. Recent State Pension rule changes mean that Britons have to wait longer and longer to receive their allowance from the government. Not that the benefit provides much to shout about. The rate of annual rises have trailed the growth in the cost of living in recent decades.
Still in work
As a consequence, more and more of us are having to stay in work for longer. It’s a worrying phenomenon that’s been laid bare by a fresh Sun Life study released today.
According to the financial services giant, almost one in seven (or 15%) of over-65s are still working today. Some 24% of these are employed full-time too, while 39% are working part-time. And almost a fifth (18%) are working more than one job.
Alarmingly, Sun Life’s data shows that 40% those over-65s still in employment do so because they fear not having enough in savings, investments, and pensions to provide them with sufficient income for retirement.
Offset the State Pension
Things are clearly difficult for Britain’s pensioners and things threaten to worsen further following the coronavirus crisis. I recently wrote about the ‘triple lock’ mechanism and explained how minimum guaranteed rises in the State Pension could soon go extinct, for example.
Sitting on your backside and hoping the government will take care of you in your old age is dangerous business. It’s why I’m building a portfolio of top-quality stocks to help me receive a nice income a few decades from now.
I don’t fancy having to continue working into my 70s like a growing number of Britons have to do. And by investing in share markets — a strategy that can create annual returns of up to 10% on a long-term basis — there really is no reason why any of us should have to remain in employment, irrespective of what State Pension levels will be, or when we can expect to receive it, now, or in the future.
Go stock hunting!
A lot of people go wrong by saving their money using low-yielding cash products. It’s better than not setting aside money at all, of course. But the prevalence of rock-bottom interest rates means you’re unlikely to make a big return on your money. In fact, the interest you make is likely to be wiped out by the inflation effect.
Buying stocks is a much better way to try and live a comfortable retirement. And the recent sell-off across global share markets leaves a wealth of excellent shares looking criminally-cheap at today’s prices. I, for one, am on the hunt for some brilliant bargains with which to boost my investment portfolio. It doesn’t matter what your attitude to risk is. There’s a broad spectrum of stocks of all shapes and sizes to help you achieve your retirement goals.
