If there is one lesson that should have been learned from history but wasn’t, then it would be the importance of taking an active role in planning for your retirement.
As all too many saw in the last decade, pension plans are not immune to market crashes and the unfortunate truth is, it is no one’s fault but yours if that pension you were counting on suddenly goes bust.
Those who have accumulated a significant amount of wealth should not only work towards safeguarding it but should also think about these four important reasons to take charge of your own retirement plan.
You Can Choose Your Own Financial Adviser
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Perhaps the most important reason that you should take your retirement plan into your own hands is because you can actually choose who you want to listen to when it comes to investments.
Most (if not all) corporate benefits packages choose a funds management firm and that’s what you get, like it or not. Many of the wealthiest corporate directors have begun moving their pensions into private funds assisted by a renowned financial adviser like Fisher Investments UK.
After all, as one of the world’s wealthiest people and in the business of advising others, who wouldn’t want to listen to Ken Fisher?
The Ability to Focus on Global Investments
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Another area that needs careful consideration is the fact that most corporate pension schemes are missing out on global investments.
For some reason, most plans keep the ‘money at home’ and this is being seen by some of the leading financial analysts as a grave error in judgement.
Some of the investments with the greatest upward movement are from emerging markets like India, China and Brazil. Want to make your wealth work for you? Go global.
You Control Where and How Much to Invest
Not only can you control where you want your investments to go but you can also choose how much you want to invest in each holding within your portfolio.
Corporate retirement plans have a fund manager that decides where and how much money to invest in each product which means you are pretty much at the mercy of that manager.
If they make a mistake, one that you wouldn’t have made, you take the loss, plain and simple.
Benefits Packages Are Not What They Used to Be
Finally, there was a time when professionals took a serious look at the benefits packages being offered by a company before signing on.
With so many cut-backs and periods of downsizing, benefits packages just aren’t what they used to be. If you are truly looking to grow any great amount of wealth before you retire, don’t look for benefits packages because quite honestly, they just aren’t what they used to be.
It is no longer possible to plan for your retirement on what you hope to realise out of your retirement plan at your company.
More and more of the wealthiest people around the UK got there because they had the foresight to take charge of their own investments and retirement plans.
Find a reputable adviser with a long history of success and that is all you need besides money to invest. Why let your company blunder your retirement away?
Take over your own funds and grow them as you see fit. Chances are you’ll be better at it anyway with the right advice and a diversified portfolio. This is your future, so take control now before it’s too late.
To Help Supplement Your Income
If you want to spend your retirement feeling relaxed and stress-free, you need sufficient funds to do so. Taking a reduction in income when you no longer work may mean you require a supplemental income source like a reverse mortgage.
It is a home loan that works in a non-traditional way by paying you on an ongoing basis for as long as the funds allowed according to a reverse mortgage calculator tool. To qualify, you must own a home and live in it permanently. You must also be at least 62 years of age.
If you already have a standard mortgage on your home, reverse mortgage funds must be used to pay it off. Then you can spend the remaining funds on any aspects of your retirement you desire, from fun activities to paying medical expenses or utilities.
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