- In the early years of retirement you might spend more rather than less
- Inflation, care fees and higher life expectancy all drive potential costs up
- But a comfortable retirement is still very much achievable by planning ahead
Imagine someone handed you a sum of money and said 'here is some cash, would you like to stop working tomorrow?' Whatever the temptation to reply with a resounding yes, your answer would depend on the size of the sum, as well as how much you enjoy your job.
In some ways, this is what retirement looks like, except of course that nobody hands you any money: by and large, you will need to accumulate it yourself. And being confident that you can afford to bid farewell to the era of commuting and canteen sandwiches requires you to put a figure on everything you are going to need between your retirement date and the end of your life.