Do you ever feel that you're just not ready?
Not ready to make that big decision. Not ready
to take that leap. Not ready to retire. You know,
it's a feeling that can stop us in our tracks.
And for many, it's actually the biggest obstacle
to a happy and timely retirement here in the
UK. I was recently chatting with, well, let's
call him Alex. had been saving diligently for
years, making regular contributions to his workplace
pension. He had also paid enough National Insurance
contributions to qualify for the full -stake
pension. Now on paper, he was financially ready
to retire, but every time he thought about it,
our stomach just dropped. He said, I just don't
know. He said, is the state pensioning off and
what if the markets take a hit? What if I need
more than that 25 % tax free lump sum? I feel
like another, I need another five years just
to be safe. But Hallux had gone over the numbers
with his independent financial advisor. And he
told him, that his defiant contribution part
was looking really healthy. You know, they both
factored in the expected state pension and they
knew that he was in a strong position. So as
we agreed that the problem isn't the maths at
all, it's probably a problem with confidence.
So the fear of the unknown of what might go wrong,
it's so, powerful that it overshadows reality
of what's gone right. This lack of confidence
keeps people tied to a desk long after they've
earned their retirement freedom. We often talk
about the financial cost of retirement, but what
about the cost of time? Time is one asset. you
can never earn back every extra year you work
just in case is it a year that you don't spend
traveling or learning a new skill or simply being
present with the people that you love think of
it this way your pension pot can grow but your
time is only ever ticking down now the minute
you spend worrying about a future problem that
might never actually occur are minutes that are
stolen from the present that you could be enjoying.
You spend time alone with a partner or with other
people. And as we age, the ratio between the
time you spend with them changes. So in our twenties,
we can see here, that we spend lots and lots
of time with other people. We spend very little
time alone and very little time with our partners.
By the time we hit 45, you can see that we spend
more time with our partners. Now this is on average.
We spend less time alone and even less time.
with others. Now let's move on to when we're
70. Now this is the time we spend most time with
our partners on average. Some time alone, but
very little time with others. We can become isolated.
Now sadly, when we hit 90, we are... spending
a huge amount of our time on our own. And that's
on average because many relationships will have
lost one of their partners by the time they get
to 90. And you can see that they are spending
very little time with others as well. And that's
where loneliness creeps in. In this chart, we
look at money, health and time. And at different
ages in our lives, what percentage of these we
have overall. So we can see here that in our
twenties, again on average, we have quite a small
amount of money. Whereas our time is extensive.
We have a lot of time left. Now, when we reach
50, we've usually accumulated quite a bit more
assets and money. So as you can see, that money
is our largest percentage split here, but our
time has reduced significantly. Now, by the time
we reach 70, quite often on average again, we
will have accumulated quite a lot. of cash due
to having pension savings, but our health will
have significantly reduced and our time has almost
run out. So we really need to start to build
our confidence to enable us to make the right
decision to retire at the right time. So how
do you bridge this confidence gap? If you haven't
already, revisit your plan. Sit down with a pensions
professional advisor or an IFA and see the numbers
in black and white. Don't rely on gut feelings.
I mean, seeing your solid plan, including any
private pensions and the state pension actually
laid out can be incredibly reassuring. And once
you are convinced on the numbers then put them
to one side and then try and visualize your life.
Like not just the abstract idea, but the tangible
details, where you go for walks, what books you'll
read, who you'll have lunch with, you know, make
it real and maybe start small. How about practicing
retired life on a smaller scale? Skip to holidays
this year maybe, instead take a few weeks off
and see what it feels like to live on your own
terms. I mean, it's a powerful rehearsal. When
you are retired, not every day can be a holiday.
So practice not being on holiday and not being
at work. You've probably spent so much time being
in one or the other that without planning it
this can feel strange the goal isn't just to
have enough money it's to have the courage to
use that money so don't let a lack of confidence
rob you of the most precious resource you have
yeah time is precious don't waste it worrying
retirement isn't an ending, it's a beginning.
Don't let fear keep you from it. Thanks for listening
to the end and I'll see you on the next one.