Here are my top five ways to retire as early as 55 a pension expert

RETIRING early might sound like an impossible goal, but anyone can manage it if they know the tips and tricks to saving at the right time and in the right way.

The good news is that even small changes can make massive difference to how much you have saved and when you can afford to stop work.

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A new movement, known as the FIRE movement (financial independence, retire early) are looking to retire as soon as possible.

But you don’t need to be this extreme – there are realistic ways to retire early without working too hard.

The earlier you start making small changes, though, the easier it is, and if you leave retirement saving too late, you might actually have to retire later than you’d prefer.

We spoke to Robert Cochran, a pensions expert at Scottish Widows, to uncover the secret to retiring early and comfortably.

You can watch the video above to hear more about his top tips.

Start early

Cochran’s first tip is to get saving as soon as possible. There are two reasons for this, the first is straightforward – starting earlier means more savings.

For instance, if you saved £100 a month into your pension from aged 16, you’d have £46,800 by the time you were 55, without any investment growth, employer contributions, or tax relief.

But, if you started at 40, you’d only have £22,500.

The more important consideration is investment growth, which compounds over time. Essentially this means that the returns you earn on your pensions are reinvested, which, so the money grows exponentially.

Cochran explained: “Einstein said that compound interest was the eighth wonder of the world, these who know it will grow it, and those who don’t will pay it.”

For instance, if you pay a thousand pounds into a pension, and it earns 5%, in the first year you would get £50 added, in the second you’d have £1,050 invested and get £52.50 back.

The year after that you would get £55.13 added, and by year 10 you’d be getting £77.57 in interest – all without saving any extra money.

If you keep adding to the pension each year, the results are even more stark. For instance, if you saved £1,000 a year into a pension with growth of 5%, from age 18-55, you’d have £107,709.55 to retire on. 

Of that, £69,709.55 would be interest paid, which is essentially free money that you’ve earned on your savings.

If you were paying minimum auto-enrolment levels on the average UK full time salary, which works out as around £2,797 a year, you’d have £301,263.60 to retire on aged 55. But if you didn’t start saving till you were 30, you’d have just £142,964.33.

Consider saving into a pension for your children

Parents are allowed to open Junior SIPPs for their children, which is a way of saving money for their retirement.

You’re allowed to save up to £3,600 a year, 20% of which comes in the form of tax relief from the Government. That means you can save £240 a month before tax relief.

If you do this from birth until they are 18, you’ll have over £64,800 saved for them.

Even if they never pay another penny in themselves, they’d have £394,075.17 by age 55, with returns of 5%. If they wait until they’re 60 to access the cash, they could have half a million pounds to retire on.

Cochran said: “You can actually pay contributions in for children. So, imagine somebody’s born and then you pay in contributions for them till they’re age 18… and then you leave that money to grow by the time they’re 60.

“That money could be worth £1 million. And that’s purely through compound and growth.”

Don’t leave cash on the table

Cochran’s third tip is to make sure that you’re never missing out on free money that’s available.

The first thing to consider is auto-enrolment. Most people aged between 22 and 64 who are employed are auto-enrolled into a pension.

The minimum auto-enrolment level is 8% of your qualifying earnings, which is made up of a mix of money deducted from your salary, tax relief, and contributions from your employer.

It is possible to opt-out of auto-enrolment, but not only does that mean you won’t be saving, you’ll also miss out on the contributions from your workplace. That means you’re giving up free money from your boss, and you’ll lose the tax relief too.

Even if you’re not eligible for auto-enrolment, for instance if you’re under 22, or earn less than £10,000 a year from a single employer, you might be able to opt in. 

For instance, if you earn more than £6,240, you can choose to join the scheme and your employer will still have to pay contributions.

Another key thing to look out for is matching, which is when your employer says it will pay more money into the scheme if you do, up to a maximum. 

Cochran explained: “Go back to your employer and find out the maximum contribution you’re entitled to get from them.

“If you’re not receiving it, go ahead and ask for it. It might mean that you have to pay a little bit more, but do not leave cash on the table.”

Track down lost pensions

The Pension Policy Institute says that there is £26.6billion in lost pensions money.

Typically, this is where people have saved into a scheme but then moved job or house and forgotten about the pot.

Cochran said: “Use the Government’s free pension tracing service and find out what you’ve got.”

To get started, gather all the pensions paperwork you do have, and make a list of every employer you’ve worked for or private pension you’ve opened.

The tracing service will tell you who ran the scheme at the time, and how to contact them. Then, you can get in touch and check whether they have any retirement savings in your name. 

Make a plan

The fifth thing to do if you want to retire early is make a concrete plan.

Cochran said: “You need to know what you’re going to be doing in retirement… so, look towards your future. Use the tools and calculators that are there to help you.”

We’ve done a round up of some of the most useful tools out there, which can help you work out what you’re on track to have saved, and what you can do to improve your retirement prospects.

Start by working out how much you need to have squirrelled away, and don’t be scared by illustrative examples.

For instance, the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) retirement living standards research says that a single person who wants a comfortable retirement will need £43,100 a year to live on.

But of course, this is higher than the average UK salary, and there are lots of people who live comfortably on much less.

The amount you need will be determined by how early you want to retire, your life expectancy, your salary and typical monthly expenditure, and whether you own your home or not.

If you’re over 50, you can book a free and impartial session with a Pension Wise adviser who can share important information and make sure you understand all the facts before you decide to retire.