alanpoterxy: Women 'making alternative retirement plans'

Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Women 'making alternative retirement plans'

Older women all over the country may need to look into ways to improve their financial situation after it was noted many females are facing a shortfall in money as they enter their retirement.

According to Anne Shaw, editor of CashQuestions.com, it is looking "grim" for many women in the UK who are going to have a lot less money in their retirement than expected.

Career break

She explained women are likely to be affected more than men as they may not have had the chance to build up as large a pension pot, due to the fact they may have taken time out from their careers to have children and to focus on bringing up their family.

"It is hoped that the state pension reforms will do something to help with this. But obviously those are very small compared with most people's needs," said Ms Shaw.

The changes will also come too late for some people, who will find they have a lot less money to live on once they have given up work than they had expected to earlier in their lives.

Equity release

Individuals in this position could be set to look into products such as equity release plans to see if they are able to unlock money from the value of their homes which can be used to secure their financial future and make sure they are going to be comfortable in their retirement.

Ms Shaw suggested downsizing is going to become an increasingly popular option among women approaching their retirement, but this is not necessarily a suitable or appealing choice for a lot of females.

Moving home can be a stressful and worrying time and a lot of people will prefer to remain in their own property for as long as they are able to.

Equity Release Council director-general Andrea Rozario recently stated in an article for Lovemoney how downsizing is not an option for many older people, due to the fact that there is an emotional impact of moving to another house later in life.

Those who want to find out more about equity release can contact Key Retirement Solutions.

Posted by Claire Ford Women making alternative retirement plans