How to Retire When You Are Single

Published: 24/06/2019 | Last Updated: 06/04/2020

Being single is a growing trend, especially amongst the younger population. At the minute, only about 50% of the adult population over the age of 18 are married. This is significantly lower than the number of married couples in the 1960’s, which was between 70% and 80%.

Nevertheless, being single doesn’t have to stop you from securing yourself financially before retiring. Although it may require a significant amount of determination to put aside money from your income constantly, it is fairly easy to help generate a significant amount of money that can help you retire comfortably.

Start Saving Early

Saving money is one of the easiest ways of securing your financial future. Using time to your advantage, you’ll be able to build up a significant amount of cash in a savings account, which will allow you to take full advantage of interest payments on the sum of money in your account.

Over time, as you consistently fund your savings account, you’ll see a significant amount of income generated through interest payments, especially as your account grows thanks to your regular investments.

Company Pension Schemes

Many employers are now required to help you secure your retirement by helping you grow a pension fund. Make sure you speak with your company owner, or significant representative, to ensure that you are gaining the full benefit for your pension fund while working with that company.

As of April 2019, the minimum an employer can contribute to your workplace pension is 3% with a minimum employee contribution of 5%, bringing your total monthly pension contribution to 8%. Your employer is legally required to contribute the minimum amount if you earn more than:

£512 per month
£118 per week
£472 per 4 weeks

They do not have to contribute anything if you earn these amounts or less.

Diversify Your Investment Portfolio

Investing may seem risky; however, it does not have to be. Having a well-diversified portfolio of investments can help you generate a significant amount of income over time. When making investments, it is important to consider that many financial instruments can carry a certain degree of risk.

It is best to keep riskier investments, such as stocks, to a minimum. However, having a balance of company shares, bonds and investments in properties will all help ensure you that your investment portfolio is well diversified.

Plan Your Ideal Retirement Goals

Before you embark on your mission to secure your financial future, it is a good idea to preplan what your ideal vision of your retirement will look like. You may need to assess some of the inevitable costs that may be incurred during your retirement, including funds needed for healthcare and other expenses that may arise from unforeseen circumstances.

When accounting for these expenses, you may soon realise that the fund you require to retire may be significantly larger than you originally anticipated, so it is always best to plan and find out how much you will need to save; a great way to keep track of savings is to use smart financial apps which keep track of what’s going in and out of your current account.

Take Advantage of Being Single

If you are currently single, this may mean you have been recently divorced, or you may have unfortunately been widowed. If this is the case, then you may be entitled to claim your ex-partner’s social security benefit payments.

It is definitely worth arranging to meet with a representative at a Social Security office based near you to discuss whether you are entitled to receive such payments and what steps you will need to take to make that happen.

Delay Your Own Social Security Payments

Although it may be an appealing idea to start claiming your Social Security benefit payments as soon as possible, you may be better off delaying these payments. When delaying your Social Security benefit payments, you will help to build up your monthly allowance when it comes to actually withdrawing your Social Security payment.

This will help boost your monthly cash flow, making your retirement seem a lot easier in terms of your financial situation.