How Pensioners Can Increase Their Retirement Funds

Many individuals are concerned about how to look after themselves and their family when they hit retirement. However, saving for retirement does not have to be difficult if you start early and have a reliable retirement plan. If you are coming up for retirement and are concerned about how to support yourself during your golden years, this article will help you to find out the best ways to save for retirement and add to your pension pot.

• Release Home Equity

If you want to add extra wealth to your pension or are concerned about the amount of money that is in your pension fund, you should consider releasing the equity on your home. Home equity will give you a large and tax-free lump sum which you can add to your pension pot and which can help to support you in the future. If you want to find out how much money you can get through releasing the equity on your home, Key Advice’s free calculator for equity release can help you to establish the value of your equity through allowing you to provide a few key details about your home.

• Check Pension Growth

You should also check your pension growth on a regular basis as this will ensure that your pension is growing as expected. Changing interest rates and the economic situation can reduce the growth of your pension and prevent you from getting the money that you need to support yourself. If your pension is not growing as expected, you can increase your retirement funding by switching pension provider and transferring your pension over to a scheme with a better interest rate for your pension. If you feel uncertain, a professional financial advisor will help you to explore all of your options.

• Utilise Workplace Pensions

Workplace pensions are based on an opt-out system, and every employee must be offered a pension through their place of work. You should make sure that you do not opt out of this scheme- although you will receive more money on a monthly basis, this can seriously damage the amount that you will have in retirement. This is because employers must match your payments into your workplace pension, which can double the money that you are saving every month.

• Set up a Private Pension

You should also consider setting up a separate, private pension to help you to save for retirement as this is an excellent place to save excess money whenever you want to. Voluntary pension payments help you to save when you can and can boost the amount of money in your pension for retirement, especially if you choose a pension provider with the best interest rates.

• Check Your State Pension

Checking your state pension is important so that you know that you qualify to receive this and that you can collect the full amount of retirement. If you have been self-employed or out of work for a long period of time, you should consider making voluntary contributions to your pension that can help to boost your National Insurance contributions and allow you to qualify for a full pension.

• Open an Investment

You can also grow your money by making an investment such as buying an annuity or ISA. If you do your research correctly, this can help to grow your pension pot efficiently.