Drawn-out or top-up mortgages, children’s college bills, and investment woes are forcing people to keep working into their retirement, writes Louise McBride
As written by Louise McBride and published in the Sunday Independent, May 20 2018
Many people now have to work after the age of 65 because they are still paying off mortgages, are footing the bill for children’s college fees – or have other financial commitments following them into retirement. Others have seen their life savings or pensions wiped out during the recession – and so can’t afford to retire at 65.
“People’s investments may have been badly hit in the crash,” said Derek Bell, chief operations officer of the Retirement Planning Council (RPC), when asked to cite the most common reasons people may have to work on. “Others may have remortgaged to get a deposit for a child’s home.”
The increase in the State retirement age is also forcing many people to work for longer. Today, you must be 66 to get the State pension – and that will increase to 67 from 2021 and 68 from 2028.
There are, of course, many people who don’t wish to finish work at the age of 65 for personal, rather than financial, reasons. However, if you have no wish to continue working beyond the age of 65, it’s important you take steps now to help you avoid having to do so.
One of the most common mistakes people make when planning for their retirement is underestimating the amount of time they will spend in retirement, according to Bell.
