Great things to do in retirement
No one likes to think about getting older, but having more free time can make retirement one of the best chapters of your life.
When the time comes to stop working, you’ll find yourself with more free time than you’ve had in years!
Have you thought about what you’d like to do when you retire? Perhaps more importantly, have you thought about how you might pay for your retirement plans?
Why should I save for retirement?
No matter how far away retirement may seem, it’s never too early to start putting some extra money away, on top of any pensions you might have in your name.
Even though no one likes to think about getting older, retirement is a great opportunity to really dedicate your time, energy and savings to truly enjoying every minute of your life.
To give you some motivation to boost your savings, we’ve put together a list of great things to do in retirement. You could create a separate budget, or savings pot, for each of your retirement plans to make sure you’ve got the money for everything you want to do.
Maintain or upgrade your lifestyle
No matter how long you’ve been working and how much you’ve been earning, it’s possible that your pensions – both government-awarded and privately funded – may not be enough for the retirement you’re picturing.
Even if you can keep up with daily costs, especially if you own your own home and have already paid off your mortgage, you may need more money to afford the same kind of lifestyle you had while you were working and to really make the most of your free time.
So, it’s a good idea to set some money aside to boost the income you’ll get from your pensions when the time comes.
Go on a dream trip – or several!
Many people dream of getting out and seeing the world when they retire.
With no limit on how many days you can take off work anymore, why not take this chance to go on all the trips you’ve dreamed of all these years? The world is your oyster!
If you set enough money aside, you might even be able to stay in nicer accommodation or even upgrade your plane tickets to business class. Not to mention all those souvenirs you can bring back to your family!
As you start saving, you could also start making a list of all the places you’ve always wanted to visit. This will help you budget how much you’d need to save for each trip as well.
Help out your family and friends
If you have children and grandchildren, you might plan to treat them from time to time or help them with things like buying their first home. Having a budget put aside for special presents could make a big difference to the lives of your loved ones.
Make improvements to your home
Whether you’re planning on moving when you retire or you’re happy to stay where you are, you’ll likely be spending more time enjoying your home.
Retirement is a great time to invest in improving your home, whether that’s repairs, renovations, or just redecorating. Even if you don’t know exactly what you’ll want to do to your home when you do eventually retire, a home improvements pot is bound to be useful.
Get more enjoyment out of daily life
With more free time during the day, you might find your social life becomes more active after you retire. You might find yourself catching up with friends more often or even meeting some new people, either through pursuing your hobbies, starting online courses or on one of your dream trips, so it’s good to plan a budget to socialise.
It’s also worth mentioning that once you’re over 65 years old, many places will offer deals and discounts, such as on travel or on theatre and cinema tickets.
You’ll have more time to dedicate to your passions as well, so it’s worth considering setting aside a budget for your hobbies. Depending on what you enjoy doing, you might want better tools or supplies, more space to practise your hobbies in, or even memberships and subscriptions that might be helpful to you. All of these little things can really add up!
Learn something new
Always wish you’d pursued that university degree? When you don’t have to worry about working, or even about studying something that will get you a good job, you can dedicate your free time to something you’ve always wanted to learn.
You can save up to go back to university or even put it towards monthly subscriptions for online courses. You could even get a degree from the comfort of your own home from a reputable online university. Even some of the UK’s best universities offer a variety of online-only courses.
When should I start saving for retirement?
The earlier you start saving, the better. This will give you more time to put some money away gradually and also give your savings or investment more time to grow, whether by being invested in stocks and shares or by accumulating interest if saved in cash.
Preparing for the future
It’s hard not to think about later life when planning your retirement, but this doesn’t have to be stressful. There are ways that you can give yourself peace of mind when it comes to what will happen when you’re no longer around.
The earlier you put a plan in place and put your mind at ease, the better you can truly enjoy the autumn of your life.
Part of this plan could involve taking out an over 50s life insurance policy. Over 50s life insurance, as opposed to normal life insurance, is designed to cover you for the rest of your life instead of a fixed term.
It’s specifically designed to help give you and your family that peace of mind, so you don’t have to worry during retirement and can focus on enjoying your free time.
Benefits of over 50s life insurance policies vary between providers, but usually they’re geared towards making sure your family is covered for any financial costs that may come their way when you die.
Here are some of the ways OneFamily's Over 50s Life Cover policy could be used.
- Put your policy money towards your funeral with Funeral Funding.
- Cover any outstanding debts you might leave behind.
- Leave some money for your friends and family.
What is Funeral Funding?
Funeral Funding is included as standard in our Over 50s Life Cover policy. This means you can make sure the pay-out from your Over 50s Life Cover policy goes towards your funeral costs when you die. The funeral director will also contribute £300 towards the cost of your funeral.
Any money not used to pay for your funeral will go into your estate for your beneficiaries, such as family and friends, to inherit.
Funeral Funding is a great way to take some of the stress off your family when they’re already going through a difficult time dealing with loss.
It's worth noting that Funeral Funding isn't the same as a funeral plan, meaning your policy might not cover the full cost of your funeral.
OneFamily Over 50s Life Cover
Look after your loved ones with our simple, affordable life cover.
Our Defaqto 5-star rated life cover offers Funeral Funding, Terminal Illness cover and a range of support services to help support you and your family.
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Over 50s Life Cover
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What is Funeral Funding?
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