Retirement isn’t all plain sailing

We all hope to enjoy some of the finer things in life in our retirement. Time with our grandchildren, travelling the world or improving a golf handicap—the things working life doesn’t allow us to do as much as we’d like.

Of course, retirement doesn’t always work out as planned. The very nature of that phase in our lives is that most of us will be in our later years—and we could be faced with challenges to our health and threats to our wealth that mean we don’t enjoy it quite as much as we’d hoped. Planning your legal affairs with Reader’s Digest Legal could help you focus on the things you really want to be doing.

We could probably all think of better ways to spend £800 a week (the average cost of a week in care), but the reality is that if your health suffers in retirement and you need to go into care, you may have to pay these fees yourself from income, savings and even the capital tied up in your home in some circumstances.

An estimated 45,000 homes are sold each year to fund care home fees. It’s possible to plan ahead and protect your home and savings in some circumstances, but it’s crucial to act early, not when the issue presents itself.

The odds are in favour of most of us living longer than our parents. With this increased life expectancy comes a greater chance of us suffering illnesses that leave us unable to manage our own affairs.

We don’t always get advance notice of a life-changing illness or accident, so those who think they’ll consider planning for such eventualities when their health starts to deteriorate risk leaving a difficult situation for their loved ones. Arranging lasting power of attorney is something that every adult with assets and people who depend on them should consider.

If you need expert advice or help and support with your pension and retirement planning from a trustworthy source, contact Unbiased today.