National Homebuyers Top Ten Tips For Retirement
It’s never too early to start planning for retirement. A lot of people only focus on finances, and fail to think about, or plan for, how they will spend their time. You spend years trying to ‘upsize’ to your dream home, but when you retire you find council tax and utility bills have risen above inflation, life expectancy has lengthened, and the pension pot on which you have to live on has got smaller than you expected.
(PRWEB) October 18, 2006
By GE Life’s reckoning, 60% of people will receive a lot less money than they expected when they retire, while research from Fidelity International has found the typical household sees their income drop by 50% in retirement.
By selling your house to National Homebuyers, retirees have the opportunity to release the equity in their home, giving them a tax-free lump sum and remain living in their home. National Homebuyers understands that once retirement age has been reached people want to enjoy their time not working. When money is no longer an issue due to a successful house sale, you will need to think about what to do with your time.
So when you have retired, what can you do to make the most of it? By releasing the equity tied up in your home, you are financially free of the stress of money but you are then in a position to afford to do the things you have always dreamt of doing. National homebuyers has come up with some suggestions to maximise your free time and experience new ventures:
1. First things first, throw the alarm clock away and enjoy long lie-ins with breakfast in bed. Get your retirement off to a flying start by imagining all the traffic congestion and train hold-ups you are lucky enough to be missing.
2. Get a part-time job, which you love. Many people who enjoy the bustle and creativity of the workplace find that working at least part-time after retirement age offers the best opportunity to stay busy.
3. You could try volunteering. Many older people gain satisfaction from an active involvement with good causes. By doing this you could get the opportunity to do some really interesting charity work, meet like-minded people and add a special meaning to your life, safe in the knowledge you are helping others while doing it.
4. You have the time to sort out your long-term care plans. The Queen mother lived until she was 101 and Hendrikje Van Andel-Schipper became the oldest woman alive in 2004 at the age of 113. These days’ people are living longer and the need for residential homes and home nursing care is greater. On average nursing home care costs over £27,000 in London and over £20,000 for the rest of the UK. Residential home care costs over £20,000 per year in London and over £14,000 for the rest of the UK. By selling your home to National Homebuyers you could ease your financial pressures by setting aside some money should a health care emergency arise, while staying in your current home by utilising the sell and rent back option.
5. Take up a new hobby or expand on an existing one. They say that everyone has one good book in them…well now you have the time to write it! If writing isn’t something you want to do you could try painting or yoga. The possibilities are endless.
6. You can take advantage of the special discounts people over the age of 60 are offered. People aged 60 or over are entitled to free off-peak bus travel in the local authority or area where they live. In Wales, if you are over 60, you’re entitled to a free bus pass obtainable from the local authority, which can be used at any time of the day. You can also get cheap theatre tickets - concessionary rates are sometimes available for senior citizens, though proof of status is always required.
7. It could be time to start thinking about inheritance tax. In real life, possessions of worth aren’t just romantically passed down to members of your family. In real life the tax man likes to take a large chunk… and his reasons aren’t sentimental either! Everything owned, which is worth over £275,000 will be taxed at a rate of 40% - for example, if an estate is worth £400,000 then £125,000 of it could be taxed at a rate of 40%. This means £50,000 would go to the tax man! If you’re reluctant for this to happen then now is the time to arrange alternative methods.
8. It’s not much fun but you can do some pension paperwork. You now have the time to check if you’re entitled to claim a tax free lump sum under a personal pension scheme. You have to elect for it by your pension date, so don’t delay!
9. Spend lots of time scanning holiday brochures for travel ideas. You now have the time and the money to go to places you have always dreamed of. You also have the opportunity to attract admiring glances from people by leafing through brochures whilst sitting on a bus They can only imagine jetting off to a far off land, they still have a boss to contend with!
10. Sit back, relax and enjoy the guilt-free pleasure of day time television!
Julian King Director of National Homebuyers says, “We have turned the conventional equity release schemes on their head. National Homebuyers have put together a simple uncomplicated option that is proving very popular and we are being contacted by people across the country from all walks of life.”
If you are wanting to release the equity in your home and enjoy the luxuries that retirement can bring, then we can structure a deal to suit. This alleviates the stress of moving house and finding a new home, and you can remain living in your home for as long as you like.
Once a RICS surveyor makes an appraisal of the property, National Homebuyers guarantee to say yes and we will provide you with a formal cash offer on your property and a rental figure to suit you. The service is quick, efficient and easy, which means funds will be made available quickly.”
Alternatively if you want a quick sale, National Homebuyers can help, giving you the option of buying a cheaper house. In addition to raising money, downsizing has a number of other advantages. A smaller house is cheaper to run – it now costs over £4000 a year to run the average home, with the bulk going on council tax and utility bills, there is also less work involved in maintaining it…meaning less housework!
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