2013 is the year to “get serious” about taking responsibility for funding our own retirements. This week Iain Duncan Smith Work and Pensions Secretary, will make an announcement on changes to the state pension age. 

Under government reforms, expected to be unveiled this week, the state pension age is expected to be linked to rising life expectancy, meaning someone who is 33 now should expect to receive the state pension at the age of 73.

This measure is designed to ease the burden on the Exchequer and is another clear indicator of how the State is struggling to cope, and will continue to struggle, with the challenges of an ageing population.  It highlights, once again, how State support will steadily fall, meaning we must all become increasingly financially self-reliant in retirement.

If those who today are in their 30s, 40s and 50s are to have the kind of retirement enjoyed by previous generations, they must get serious about saving, especially as other perks such as final pension salary schemes disappear – and the New Year is the ideal time to make a commitment to plan more for your ‘leisure years’.

By making a pledge to save more now, you’ll be less likely to be dependent on the pension that the State will be able to provide, which will be less than satisfactory, and far more likely to be able to afford to stop work young enough to fully enjoy your retirement.

With only 120 pay-days in a decade, there really is no time to lose.   The time to act is now and the best way to secure financial freedom, as various studies have

shown, is by working with a professional, independent financial advisor to devise a tailor-made, long-term plan.

In other areas of life, such as sport and business, all the pros have a coach or mentor, and your retirement is too important and mistakes are too costly not to seek advice from a ‘financial coach’.

Nigel Green deVere Group

Blog written January 7th