How to plan for retirement

id

Our Retirement Voice report has shown that people who plan for their financial future usually feel better about their money. Why not try these planning tips to help you feel more confident about life after work?

We’ve found that people who do a great deal of planning are more than twice as likely to feel positive about their financial situation than those who do no planning (68% vs 30%). Even a little can go a long way – 48% of people who do a bit of planning say they feel positive. 

More than half of people who’ve done no planning say they’re worried their money in retirement won’t last, compared to just 37% of those who do lots of planning.

If you’re not sure what you need to consider when it comes to retirement, don’t worry! We’ve broken down a few key steps you can take to help you prepare.

Step one: Think about when you want to retire

Do you have a retirement age in mind?

It will help to know when you’ll be entitled to claim your State Pension, as that forms part of most people’s retirement plans.

Be sure to check if the retirement age you have in mind is the one on your pension plans and update this if it is different. If you’re a Standard Life customer, we’ll get in touch with you as you approach your retirement date to make sure it’s still right for you. We’ll also give you some useful tips and help you better understand the steps you need to take as you approach retirement.

The age you have on your plan can affect investment choices the nearer you get to it. And remember if you’ve moved jobs a few times, you may have more than one pension to keep up to date. 

Also bear in mind that the age at which you can access money from your pension plan is currently 55, but this is due to rise to 57 from 6 April 2028.

Step two: Get to know your retirement options

Deciding how you plan to take your pension money is a key part of any retirement plan. 

If you’re getting close to retirement, it’s time to start investigating how to make the best use of the savings in your pension pot. Will you take out your money in lump sums? Will you leave money invested during your retirement and take it flexibly as and when you need it (also known as drawdown)? If you do that, what will you invest in? Or will you convert it into a guaranteed income for life (sometimes called an annuity)? You could even go for a combination of options. You can find out more about taking your money on MoneyHelper.

Check with your provider that your pension plan offers the options that you want. If it doesn’t, shop around and compare providers to find a deal that works for you. You may find you get more from your retirement income as a result.

Want to know more about how you can take money from your pension plan? If you’re 50 or older, you can get free guidance over the phone or face to face with Pension Wise, a service from MoneyHelper.

Step three: Work out how much you might need in retirement

What sort of retirement lifestyle would you like? Will your mortgage and other debts be paid off? Do you plan to travel? How much money do you need to retire? 

The answers to these and many other questions are very important when it comes to working out how much money you might need every year. They’re also worth discussing with whoever you plan to spend your retirement with.

The Retirement Living Standards, published by Pensions UK, gives helpful starting point when retirement planning. 

They’ll tell you how much a minimum, moderate or comfortable lifestyle might cost you in retirement – whether that’s as a one- or two-person household. Keep in mind you might have other expenses that the Retirement Living Standards haven’t accounted for.

Step four: Understand the bigger picture

When you have an idea of the kind of lifestyle you’d like and how much money you might need to pay for that, the next step is to see whether your savings can support this.

Starting with your pension pot, you’ll need an accurate picture of where you are right now. Many pension plans let you check online any time how much you’ve got and if your savings are on track. You can find out more about our online services on our website, or visit our support page for FAQs and ways to get in touch.

You can see how much your pension plans could be worth when you come to retire by putting some basic details into our pension calculator, which can also take into account what you might expect from the State Pension. 

The full new State Pension currently gives you £11,973. This might mean you'd need more than an extra £19,000 of spendable income a year if you were aiming for the 'moderate' lifestyle outlined above. So this is where your personal and workplace pension plans and any other retirement income sources like Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) or other investments come in.

And don’t forget to take into account other income options you might have from things like part-time work, rental income or other savings.

Step five: Track down lost pots

Could you have a ‘lost’ pension plan? In other words, one that an employer set up for you that you’ve forgotten about, or one you can’t find paperwork for? If so, there could be a pot of pension money waiting for you. 

If you’re not sure where all your plans are, you can use the government’s Pension Tracing Service to help you find them. 

Once you’ve got all of your plans, you could consider bringing them together to give you a clearer picture of how much you currently have in pension savings. You can do this with a provider of your choosing through what’s known as a ‘pension transfer’. 

Transferring may not be right for everyone – you’ll need to consider all the facts and decide if it’s right for you. You could lose valuable guarantees or benefits by transferring. There’s also no guarantee that you’ll get more as a result.

You can find out more on our website.

Want some help?

If you’d like more help with your retirement planning, it could be worth getting advice from a financial adviser. MoneyHelper can help you understand more about how to find a financial adviser.

 

The information here is based on our understanding in July 2025 and shouldn’t be taken as financial advice.

A pension is an investment. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than was paid in.

Standard Life accepts no responsibility for information in external websites. These are provided for general information.