It’s never too early to start planning for your retirement, and help is at hand if saving for the future ever feels confusing or overwhelming. The key is to think like a wilderness explorer and always be prepared!

Be open to what could happen in your autumn years. For example, if you live to the impressive age of 95, you may very well want to buy two new cars and move home at least once during your retirement, so you’ll need to plan accordingly to cater for potential scenarios.

As people are living longer, so will they require more capital after retirement, it’s a good idea to start planning as early as possible to secure your future. And a diversified portfolio is the way forward in order to ensure that you have enough to enjoy a long and happy retirement after years of hard work.

Don’t think of your savings as a one-trick pony, as sadly it isn’t enough to rely on just your pension or provident fund and retirement annuities. Life is often what happens when you’re making other plans so you don’t want to put all of your eggs in one basket. If anything ever goes pear-shaped, you’re going to need liquidity, so it’s important to ensure that you’ve got different options to fall back on.

To start with, both you and your partner should open a tax free savings account (or similar vehicle – we can chat about this in person) as soon as you can. This might also be the time for you to start considering building a property portfolio. Bear in mind that owning many small properties in one location that you know well and that you can look after yourself is arguably more profitable than having just one big property.

These are just two ideas that you can consider towards planning for your retirement. Simply arrange a meeting to chat about all your options and design a retirement portfolio that will cover your bases.