Financial advice
Robert Cochran, retirement expert at Scottish Widows, agrees: "The best way to do this is with a financial adviser."
However, he adds: "We know that there are many who simply cannot afford to take this route, and they should be encouraged to seek other ways that may help give them peace of mind that they are on the right track, such as using online pension calculators, and the over-50s can access free pension guidance from Pension Wise."
Chan explains: "It’s important to conduct an income and expenditure analysis regularly and work out which non-essential expense can go and redirect that to extra savings towards retirement.
"Clients should have a financial plan in place to know where they stand financially and what actions they need to take to improve it or stay on track.
"They should also ensure they are taking sufficient investment risk while still in accumulation so that the pension pot grows and regularly review the chosen pension funds so that they are delivering the right level of returns for your financial plan to work."
He warns against clients relying on an inheritance to make their financial plan work – as the old saying goes, "don’t count your chickens before they hatch because there may not be one or as much as one had hoped", he concludes.
Ultimately, as Cochran adds: "Most importantly, we must remind everyone that it is never too late to pay into a pension, nor is any amount too small."
simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
