Finance Considerations for Women over 40
The financial decisions that you make in your 40’s are perhaps some of the most important. As a woman in your 20’s, your biggest financial decision might have been whether to spend the extra £2 on a slightly nicer bottle of wine and your 30’s might have revolved around kids and/ or your career. But as you get that bit nearer to retirement, in your 40’s, the financial decisions you are making as a woman can have a bigger impact on the rest of your life. Now is the time to prepare and get ahead with your retirement and pension planning with the following finance considerations for women over 40.
Considering your Financial Position as a Woman over 40 right now
The first financial consideration for women over 40 is to work out your financial position right now in order to understand how you can move forward. Start by reviewing your investments and savings to assess whether they are still in line with your attitude to risk and your personal ethics and values. After evaluating your savings and investments, the next step is to find out how much money you have in your current pension pot.
Pension Considerations for Women over 40
As a woman over 40, some of your most significant financial considerations will surround your pension. If you have been employed or self-employed over the last two decades, you are likely to have been paying into a pension and over time, this pension pot will grow as it earns interest. With women living longer and longer, our pension pot must be sufficient to last us the remainder of our lives and so I cannot overemphasise the importance of considering your pension in your 40’s.
A good starting point when it comes to accessing your pension pot is the Pension Tracing Service, which can track any lost pensions or pension contributions that you may have forgotten about. The next step is to ask for up-to-date statements for all of your pensions. As part of this process, you can also get a forecast of your state pension.
As a woman in your 40’s, now is also a good time to start thinking about how you would like to receive your pension. Would you like to receive your pension regularly as a monthly income or receive a lump sum to do something different?
Finance Considerations for Women over 40 – Increasing Pension Contributions
Once you have an understanding of your current pension pot, you can work out when you are set to retire based on your current pension contributions. If you would like to retire sooner and are in the financial position to do so, think about increasing your pension. You can do this by making larger contributions and/ or adding a lump sum to your pension pot. Make sure you take advantage of any unused pension tax allowance.
“Don’t spend all of your money increasing your lifestyle. When you let your lifestyle inflate, your net gain is zero. You don’t want that in your 40s.” (Forbes)
Working with a Pension Advisor as a Woman in your 40’s
If you would like some support considering your finances as a woman over 40, our team of all-female advisors can help to ensure you are in the best financial position pre-retirement. We can carry out a pension review and help you to find out the current size of your pension pot and where your pension will place you later in life. As well as helping you to work out how much is right for you to contribute now, for the life you want in the future.
Find out more about our pension advice services.
Considering your Finances as a Woman over 40
Considering your finances as a woman over 40 is all about planning for the future and making sure that you are on track for the life you want in retirement. Planning for your future financially can include reviewing your investments, savings and current pension pot as well as increasing your pension contributions and working with a Pension Advisor. It does not matter where you are starting from, it is never too late to plan for the future and secure your dream retirement lifestyle.
A pension is a long term investment, the fund may fluctuate and can go down. Your eventual income may depend upon the size of the fund at retirement, future interest rates and tax legislation.