Cost of living support
The cost of living is rising due to the increased cost of essentials like food, energy, and petrol. This makes it a difficult time for managing money.
The good news is that the RMSPS is a defined benefit scheme, which means the benefits paid to you when you retire are secure and not reliant on the stock markets for how much you get. However, you might want to check how far your benefits will go in retirement.
The first thing to do is to look at your Current Value Statement to see what your annual pension may be from the RMSPS and then add up any other workplace pensions and savings, don’t forget your State Pension. Try to track down any lost pensions you may have. You can find lost pensions using the Government’s pension tracing service at www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details
Once you have an idea of how much you have saved up, you can use an online budget planner to help you work out how much you might need in retirement. There’s one on the RMSPS website at http://rmplanit.capitaemployeebenefits.co.uk/
As a guide, a single person will need about £11,000 per year (or £17,000 for a couple) to ensure your basic needs are covered with a little left over, assuming
you have no rent or mortgage payments to make. Find out more about the cost of living in retirement on the Retirement Living Standards website - www.retirementlivingstandards.org.uk/
How to further your savings
If you find there’s a gap between how much you might need in retirement and how much you have saved, there are several options available to you.
- Retiring later - You’ve got your perfect retirement date in mind but working just a little longer could help you to save more.
- Making extra pension contributions - You could do this through a current employer’s scheme or by setting up a personal pension.
- Paying off debts - Paying off debts you have now could mean you have fewer outgoings in retirement.
Making sure that you have a clear plan, financially, before retiring will help make your retirement even better!