With the furlough scheme due to end in October, many companies are assessing the viability of their staffing levels and are reappraising their business model to adapt to the new challenges ahead.
This will inevitably result in a raft of v
oluntary and compulsory redundancies across many sectors of industry and commerce.
So, what can you do if you’re at risk of redundancy and if you are over the age of 55?
Perhaps this is the opportunity you have been waiting for to get out of the ‘rat race’ and take early retirement.
Often it will come down to affordability – can you afford to fund your retirement? If you are curious to find out, then follow the steps that we, as a firm, undertake when we assess the financial platform of a new client.
Step 1) Empty the drawers, find that old paperwork, see what you’ve got. Break it down into two piles - a pension pile and an everything else pile eg bank accounts, ISA, savings etc
Step 2) Write down all the firms where you have been employed and go onto the pensions tracing service https://www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details and complete the process to track any former employment pensions you may have lost.
Step 3) Go onto the unclaimed assets register https://www.uar.co.uk/ to hunt for any forgotten bank accounts or old savings policies you may have had.
Step 4) Write to all of the companies both old and new and request details of your pensions and policies.
Step 5) Write down your outgoings and see what expenditure is unnecessary – it’s amazing how many people are paying for gadget insurance for devices they no longer have.
Step 6) Add up all the income that your pensions and assets will produce. As a rough rule of thumb assume that any fund values would produce a 3% income ie for every £10k of fund value that’s £300 a year of income.
If your expenditure is less than that income, congratulations retirement is affordable! If it isn’t there are potentially other ways to bridge the gap.
For further information drop us an email or give us a call.
info@thepaladin.co.uk
01543 624426
Follow us on Facebook for regular updates