RETIRE
Congratulations – you’re ready to retire! Here’s what you need to do to make it happen.
If you haven’t yet thought about how you want to take your Plan savings, you can find out more about your choices in Plan – your retirement options.
7 STEPS TO MAKING IT HAPPEN
- Request a retirement pack from the Plan administrator.
- Take financial advice to help you understand your options and decide what’s right for you.
- Decide whether you’ll be using income drawdown, buying an annuity, taking cash or a combination of these.
- Research the market for your choice of drawdown or annuity provider.
- Beware of scams.
- Complete the relevant forms from the Plan administrator to process your retirement choice.
- Start enjoying your retirement.
WELLBEING
Retiring is an exciting time, but it’s also a big lifestyle change which can take a bit of time to get used to once you stop working.
On the one hand, you might be looking forward to having more free time; but on the other, you might also be worried about missing the routine of the working day and how you’ll fill your time. These feelings are normal.
Retiring to…
Rather than thinking of retirement as an event, it can be helpful to see it more as a process – one which is less about retiring from work and more about retiring to something new.
New opportunities
When the world is your oyster, knowing where to begin can sometimes be overwhelming. Now you’ve got the time, what do you want to do? Here are a few ideas:
- Hobbies – do your current hobbies give you enough time with other people?
- Learn something new – retirement is a great time to develop new skills and interests. Check out the Open University, your local college or the University of the Third Age.
- Volunteer – pass your skills on to others and get more involved in your local community.
- Work – this might be the last thing you fancy doing but many people take some part-time work to give structure to their lives, earn a bit of extra money or do something they enjoy.
Take care of yourself
Don’t forget that once you reach a certain age, you become entitled to different health benefits:
- Free NHS eye test when you’re over 60
- Free NHS prescriptions in England and Wales when you’re over 60
- Flu jab – free to anyone over 65
- Free health check – anyone between the ages of 40 and 74 is eligible for a free NHS health check every five years.
