How much money do you need to retire comfortably (and how to estimate it)?
- Research shows an average retired couple in the UK spends £26,000 annually to live comfortably.
- What you need to retire comfortably depends on the life you want in retirement.
- Estimate how much money you need to retire by estimating your needs (and wants) across sixteen spending categories.
The other day I was chatting to a friend about retirement and pensions. See, it is not only that I like talking about ‘all things money’; there comes a time in life when conversations about dating and trendy bars give way to chats about varicose veins, retirement plans and misplaced pensions (and spectacles). Companies offer tracking services to help find misplaced pensions, so at least we have some help there! But there’s more to it than that…
I was telling my friend how to check the benefits her pension offers. Suddenly, she stopped and said:
“This is important. Still, what I want to know is how do I know how much I need for my retirement if I have never been retired before.”
I know, I know. This sounds like the kind of conversation people have after much drink and to the background of mellow jazz.
Still, my friend’s ‘off the cuff’ remark, kept keeping me awake. Problematic…
