The ‘Golden Age’ of retirement is here – now – so if you’re not enjoying it you may well have missed the boat!

It is, once again, the Baby Boomer generation that are reaping the financial benefits as they worked through a time of defined benefit retirement schemes. These plans were set up when members retired at 65 and were not expected to reach 70. However increased life expectancy means the lucky ones are now facing the prospect of a generous pensions for an extended retirement – some will receive more in retirement than they earned in employment.

Following generations would be forgiven for feeling a little resentful. They have missed out on an indulgent childhood, the sexual revolution, a time of full employment and dramatic house price inflation and instead coped with the rise of AIDS, Bird flu and Ebola, the oil crisis, and global recessions.

However take a step back and you will find many of today’s pensioners are surprised to find themselves still with us – when they started work the average Brit was not expected to live beyond 70.  Baby boomers may benefit from improved health care but many are devoid of plans for how to enjoy their extra time. Worse still, because they didn’t expect to ‘be around’ many have not looked after themselves and are finding their extra years dominated by illness and infirmity.

The generations that follow have one huge advantage – time. Yes, they are struggling with elderly parents and children who won’t leave home; and yes, they know their own pension prospects are pitiful in comparison and that state benefits are a receding dream, but time is on their side.  How does this help?  The smart ones are learning from their parents generation – both what they did well and the mistakes they made.

EML has been working in this field for over a decade and share the knowledge and insight gained to help you plan. While financial planning is important, it is just an enabler, making the most of later life is all about what you do with your money – and we have some stories to tell…..