03/09/2024 by Lottie Kent 0 Comments
The UK’s most common retirement regrets and how your divorced clients can avoid them
A recent study revealed the UK’s most common retirement regrets (Canada Life, 2024). Learn how your divorced clients could avoid these regrets here.
After the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, legendary British diver Tom Daley announced he was retiring from the sport at the age of just 30 years old.
Speaking to the BBC (12 August 2024), Daley said, “I feel like it’s the right time […] I want to be with my family”.
Whatever your or your clients’ retirement goals, ensuring that it happens at the right time, and in the right way, is essential for long-term wellbeing.
Yet according to research from Canada Life (7 May 2024), 40% of British retirees have regrets about their retirement and, if they had their time again, they would do things differently.
While those participating in this survey were people with a wide range of life experiences, your divorcing clients could be particularly vulnerable to making retirement decisions they will later regret.
As you may have read in our recent article on the financial mistakes divorcees often make, those experiencing divorce could make rash or poorly thought out financial choices. What’s more, they could leave their marriage under different financial circumstances than they’re used to, which could have a negative impact on their retirement plan.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at UK retirees’ most common retirement regrets and explore how your divorced clients could avoid them.
17% of retirees wish they’d contributed more into their pensions while working
When asked, “Would you have done anything differently?”, 17% of survey respondents said they would have “increased pension contributions while working” to give themselves a more comfortable retirement.
Making as many pension contributions as possible during working life is extremely important – especially for those who have been through, or are going through, a costly divorce. While the couple may share their pension wealth upon separation, entering retirement as a single person requires careful planning and may put your clients in a less comfortable position.
To avoid this regret, if your clients are still of working age, it may help to ensure they:
- Review their pension(s) annually and increase contributions wherever possible
- Claim tax relief through self-assessment if they are higher- or additional-rate taxpayers
- Speak to their employer about matching their contributions for an even bigger boost
- Invest in a wide range of assets outside of their pension too.
In the run-up to retirement, it could be constructive for your clients to work with a financial planner – particularly if they are divorced. Having a professional eye on their pensions and investments could help your clients to prepare for a comfortable retirement.
12% say they should have made lifestyle adjustments to save for retirement
When swept up in the lifestyle change that comes with a divorce, it’s very difficult to look ahead and be disciplined about saving for the future.
As such, your clients could be making lifestyle choices that suit them today, without thinking about how these decisions might hurt them in retirement.
If you suspect this is the case, it may be beneficial to connect your clients with a bespoke financial planner. A professional will help your clients to:
- Create a sustainable budget that fulfils their lifestyle needs without overspending
- Remain motivated to save for retirement, even after a difficult event like divorce
- Save and invest in line with their unique personal goals.
Helpfully, a financial planner will have access to cashflow modelling software that can help your client see where their lifestyle choices may make a difference down the line. Using visual aids, a cashflow forecast could give your clients the food for thought they need to maintain a happy, comfortable lifestyle without putting their retirement savings on the back burner.
Of course, this is easier said than done, particularly for those who are starting a brand-new chapter of their lives after a divorce. It can be difficult to get to grips with saving and budgeting as a single person after being married for a long time, which could perhaps lead to unintended overspending and a lack of forethought where retirement is concerned.
8% regret retiring early
Seeing as early retirement is an important goal for many people, including perhaps some of your clients, you may be surprised to learn that 8% of UK retirees would retire later if they had their time again.
Unless your client is in extenuating circumstances like Olympic diver, Tom Daley, an early retirement could actually be detrimental to their wellbeing – especially as life expectancies are rising. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) life expectancy calculator says that a 55-year-old man in 2024 has a life expectancy of 84, and a woman the same age has a life expectancy of 87.
This means it is entirely possible that your clients who retire at 55 will need to fund a 30-year retirement, potentially involving expensive later-life care. If they remain single throughout this period, they could be required to cover all household expenses from one retirement savings pot rather than two, all of which might mean they face financial stress in their later years.
As such, while early retirement is a goal that many work towards, your clients could benefit from bespoke advice before they decide to hang up their boots. Ultimately, a slightly shorter retirement with greater financial peace of mind is likely to make a person happier than a long retirement that involves financial hardship. Financial planning could help your clients strike this crucial balance, especially if they’re entering retirement after a divorce.
Learn more about working with a qualified divorce professional
If your clients are approaching retirement after divorce and need bespoke guidance from an expert in this field, get in touch with me. Email lottie@truefinancialdesign.co.uk or call 07824 554288.
I am also happy to discuss cases with solicitors first, before you refer your clients to me, or you can contact me by email and CC your client accordingly. I am happy to accommodate whatever mode of communication works best for you and your clients.
Comments
Leave a comment