Smith - The Good Retirement Guide 2019: Everything You Need to Know About Health, Property, Investment, Leisure, Work, Pensions and Tax.

The Good Retirement Guide 2019

33rd Edition

The Good Retirement Guide 2019

Everything you need to know about health, property, investment, leisure, work, pensions and tax

Edited by Allan Esler Smith

Publishers note

Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate at the time of going to press, and the publishers and authors cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or the author.

Thirty-third edition published in Great Britain and the United States in 2019 by Kogan Page Limited

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses:

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United Kingdom

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USA

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www.koganpage.com

Kogan Page, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

The right of Allan Esler Smith to be identified as the author of and Your plan for a good retirement has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The right of Kogan Page to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

ISBNs

Hardback 978 0 7494 9763 7

Paperback 978 0 7494 8397 5

eBook 978 0 7494 8398 2

ISSN 2397-1967

Typeset by Integra Software Services, Pondicherry

Print production managed by Jellyfish

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

Cover endorsements were provided for previous editions of this book.

I am indebted to Frances Kay for guiding me as co-editor in the 2013 to 2017 editions. Frances, and her encouragement, wit and wisdom, was fantastic to work with and I wish her a continuing good retirement and a wealth of happiness. I am also grateful to my father, Stanley Smith, a retired senior civil servant, and my wife, Karen, whose assistance and guidance were invaluable. I also value incisive professional input; in this regard, Martin Gorvett, a Chartered Financial Planner of Lavender Financial Planners Ltd, cuts an effective knife through the complexities and language of investments and pensions. On tax and weighing up the worlds largest tax book, I am indebted to Graham Boar, a tax partner of UHY Hacker Young. Graham boils down complex issues into straightforward planning tips and guidance. On legal matters, wills and powers of attorney, I thank the father-and-son team of Mike and Tom Bottomley of Ewart Price Solicitors. Legal issues are so vitally important to smoothing the path of an estate and their 40 years of combined experience and resulting contribution and advice are appreciated. Keeping safe and on top of the scammers continues to keep us on our toes and I thank the Metropolitan Police Organized Crime Command (FALCON) for continuing to support this book. The Financial Ombudsman knows a thing or two about navigating the world of finances, insurances and pensions, and we continue to go to the top of the tree with David Cresswell, Director of Strategy, for help, hints and tips thank you, David, for your support. Thank you to Kogan Page for the encouragement, patience and belief in this title the teamwork has been outstanding.

This book will help you develop your retirement planning so that you can understand where you are now, where you want to get to and how you can achieve your retirement objectives. I am passionate about helping you achieve just one thing a better retirement.

The longer you have until retirement, the more you can do to improve your prospects, as so much flows from increasing your knowledge around pensions and investments, and how they interlink with tax. This throws up an immediate challenge because the UK has the most complex tax regime in the world. There are hundreds of opportunities to improve your retirement by saving more, earning that little bit extra and making the most of your life, from a great home focusing on personal relationships and, if you have the time, getting into hobbies and volunteering.

In this book I first tackle the three stages of retirement and how your finances can change radically as you progress through each stage. Next, I look at how to plan more. The five chapters in Part One will help you do this. I want to help you with the often-complex financial decisions you will encounter and doing the retirement sums, and show you how these fit into the three phases of retirement. There is a key chapter on the difficulties faced by the so-called sandwich generation (those with dependent young adults and dependent elderly relatives requiring care). I then shift the focus towards demystifying financial speak. The way that pensions, savings and tax are presented can sometimes be hard to understand. I try to cut through the waffle and get you focused on what really matters such as grabbing as much free money as you can from employers on pensions, ramping up your pensions tax efficiency and working the tax bands so you have more money in retirement. I also look at investments that can save you tax. There is important advice on avoiding predators and dealing only with FCA-registered advisers on pensions and investments, and staying within the UK regulatory system, which provides a good safety net.

Part Two focuses on how to achieve a good retirement by saving more and earning better. The impact could be amazing. Complacency is costing us too much money, but it can be solved by the forces of competition and getting better at complaining when things go wrong. Help is provided on knowing your rights and upping the ante if you get fobbed off. I also look at avoiding scams, which can be devastating if you get caught out our hints and tips will help keep you safer. The other side of the economic equation is earning better, and that may mean finding a better job in order to ease your path to retirement. There is a chapter on career transitions and other paid work that will prepare you for change. However, your retirement plans could call for something more radical. The chapter on starting your own business could open the door to a new career or just help you to earn more money for extra holidays or leisure activities.

Part Three shines a spotlight on the retirement years and the key building blocks of living better. This section is all about getting the home right, retuning your personal relationships, staying healthy, volunteering, and leisure and holidays. Perhaps you wish to expand your home to cope with boomerang children, or downsize, or relocate to free up capital to fund the retirement you aspire to. Or perhaps it is time to rethink those important relationships. I explore how to stay healthy. Then there is the wonderful world of volunteering, which really can bring you so much in so many ways. The final chapter in this section is all about holidays and leisure. Lets not kid ourselves here this is often the turn-to chapter when opening the guide. Yes, it is what you have been looking forward to, and, yes, if you can get this right you might just have found your perfect retirement.