At Home with Carol Vorderman 2013 - (Page 208)

Save for your future Your golden Years are meant to be a time to focus on Yourself, but seven million people aren’t putting awaY enough moneY W 1 Start researching The best thing you can do is find out the facts. Make some enquiries as to how much you will have to play with as your working life draws to a close – this will give you an indication of how much 208 | JUNE 2013 more you will need to save to ensure you are financially comfortable later in life. The human resources (HR) department at work is the place to visit if you want to enquire about your company pension. If you don’t belong to a company pension scheme, find out whether there is one available and get on it! Many companies will contribute an additional percentage to your fund themselves, based on your contributions. That’s money for nothing, but four in 10 people decide to opt out, preferring more money now and forfeiting extra cash later. Don’t forget about any pension schemes you may have paid into while working for a previous employer: £300million of forgotten pension contributions are currently not going to those who earned them. You can make sure you aren’t due any excess monies by logging on to www.thepensionservice.gov.uk, or calling them on 0845 600 2537. 2 Widen the search If you are married, check the facts about your partner’s company pension plan, too. Don’t make the mistake of automatically assuming that your spouse will provide for you both in your later years, as many men will have opted in to pension schemes at the start of their career, when they were younger or unattached, choosing cheaper single-life annuity over joint-life annuity. This means that should they pass away before you (life expectancy is less for men than women), the pension payments will cease, and you won’t see a penny of any savings that were left. 3 Give generously While women used to reach state pension age at 60 and men at 65, that is being phased out so that by 2018 both will qualify for a state pension at age 65. If you are a woman born between April 1950 and Words: Holly Quale | PhotograPhs: Getty Images hen it comes to investing in an exciting venture such as buying a house, everyone errs on the side of caution. You ask yourself ‘Am I getting the best deal on a mortgage?’ ‘What sort of loan shall I take out?’ You tend to devote hours to research in order to stretch your money as far as it can go. However, many adopt an almost flippant approach towards saving for retirement. In fact, new research by HSBC bank found that workers in the UK are the worst prepared for retirement – stating that some will run out of savings just seven years into their twilight years. Of those not saving for retirement, three-fifths blame high living costs, saying that they are holding them back, with 35 to 44-year-olds saying they feel particularly squeezed. You will need to have saved around £400,000 at retirement age to provide a yearly income of £20,000 for the next 20 years. Not much room for indulgence is there? But, with a spot of damage control, you can get back on track. http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of At Home with Carol Vorderman 2013

Editor's letter
Carol's hello
News
Summer days
Rear of the year
Shades of citrus
Maxi moment
Good for the sole
Razzle dazzle
Swing by the sixties
All shapes and sizes
Steal her look
The swimwear round
A moment with Carol
Beaming with pride
Loose women
Forever friends
What men want
The D word
Fear not
Keep your flirt on
Sex on fire
Culinary classics
Food glorious food
At a pinch
Oiling the meals
Flaming hot
Under the grill
Raise a glass
Water works
Weight-dropping wonders
Tuck in
Home improvements
Holiday hazards
Proceed with caution
Warning signs
Down to the bare bones
Back on track
A sorry sight
20 under £20
How do they do it?
Rewind time
Lacklustre locks?
Pearly brights
Good job hunting
Old timers
The golden years
Cash in a flash
Money guru
Foster the love
Child's play
Easy as 1, 2, 3?
Summertime accessories
Those in glass houses
On the tiles
Home safe home
Savvy traveller
Holiday honcho
Port of call
Here come the girls
It's a numbers game
Book it in
Up, up and away!
Last word

At Home with Carol Vorderman 2013