When it comes to your pension, your 50s are an important decade, as many people reach their peak earning years and have more to contribute. It’s also a time when major financial responsibilities, such as supporting children or paying off a mortgage, may start to ease, which could free up even more income to invest in your future.

So, it’s perhaps unsurprising that your 50s are often the time when people start working with a financial planner, as they begin to prioritise work-life balance and consider how they want to spend retirement.

Read on to discover six reasons why turning 50 is a key milestone for pension planning, and how an Amber River financial planner can help you determine your retirement dreams, create a plan to achieve them, and keep you on track every step of the way.

The Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA) – which is the earliest you can usually access your pension – is 55, rising to 57 in 2028. So, if you’ve recently turned 50, retirement could be just a few years away.

Whether you’re hoping to fully retire at the earliest possible opportunity, gradually reduce your hours, or keep working in some capacity well beyond your NMPA, 50 is the perfect time to explore your options.

A financial planner can help you map out various retirement scenarios and show you what each might mean for your lifestyle and long-term financial security. They can present different projections based on your desired retirement age, wealth, goals, and other variables outside of your control, such as inflation or market performance.

Starting to make concrete plans and goals at 50 allows you to make more informed choices over when you’ll be able to retire.

Your income, lifestyle, and saving habits are likely to be more established at 50 than they were earlier in your life, which can make long-term planning far more reliable.

You may also have a better idea of:

• Where you want to live when you retire
• How you want to spend your time once you stop working or reduce your hours
• Whether you want (and can afford) to help younger loved ones with a financial boost
• If you’ll need to support ageing parents.

All this can make it easier to picture your future clearly and create more accurate projections of the life you want to live. Whether you want to travel, spend more time with your family, or even start a business, you can begin setting specific goals while adjusting your pension strategy to ensure you’re on track to achieve them.

An Amber River financial planner can help you clarify your retirement goals, determine what you’ll need to fund them, and create a plan for reaching them.

When you turn 50, it’s a good idea to check in with your pension to see if you’re on track.

You may find that you’re ahead of schedule, which could mean you’re able to retire earlier than you planned. Or you could reduce your contributions and give gifts to your loved ones or donations to causes you support.

Even if your savings aren’t quite where you’d like them to be, your 50s are the ideal time to do something about it.

Many people reach their peak earnings in this decade, and as mentioned earlier, your outgoings may be lower if your children leave home or you pay off your mortgage. So, the potential for higher earnings and lower expenses could mean that if you have any pension shortfalls, your 50s is a good time to address them and boost the size of your fund.

Remember, even small increases in contributions can make a big difference over time due to the power of long-term growth and compounding.

A financial planner can help you determine if your pension is on track and how to structure any additional contributions you may need to make in the most tax-efficient way. They can also advise on how to use your surplus income if you want to reduce your contributions.

When you’re younger, your money might be invested in higher-risk funds that aim to deliver a higher potential return, as you have more time to make up any losses.

When you reach your 50s and retirement is approaching, you might want to reduce your exposure to risk and start protecting your wealth, as you’ll need to draw on it sooner rather than later. This can help ensure your plans don’t suddenly get derailed by market dips just before you start drawing an income.

A financial planner can help you take a measured approach that finds a suitable balance for protecting your pension pot as much as possible, without limiting your potential for growth too early.

Your pension will likely be your primary source of income in retirement, but it doesn’t have to be the only one.

If you’d like some extra breathing room to feel more secure, you could set up some alternative income sources – and your 50s is the ideal time to do so.

This could include:

• Buying a second property to generate rental income
• Making use of your accumulated ISA wealth
• Expanding your investment portfolio
• Building a new property on your land to sell or let.

A financial planner can help you understand the choices available to you and build a strategy that combines with your pension to ensure you are well prepared for retirement.

The State Pension may not seem significant, but it can form the bedrock of your retirement income.

You typically need 35 qualifying years of contributions on your National Insurance record to be eligible for the full State Pension.

Once you reach 50, it’s a good idea to check in with your State Pension forecast and make voluntary contributions if needed.

A financial planner can help you make the most of your State Pension entitlement, whether that’s filling in gaps or deferring it for a few years, ensuring that it fits in with your wider retirement plans.

Your 50s are an ideal time to check in with your pension and start making retirement plans – and an Amber River financial planner can help you through every step of the process.

To set up an initial appointment, call 0800 915 0000. Alternatively, you can use our contact form to arrange an appointment.