Millions not reviewing long-term finances


Updated on 30 October 2014 | 0 Comments

A new survey says nearly two-thirds of working people are not looking at their retirement finances regularly.

Nearly two-thirds of working people say they have not reviewed their long-term savings and investments in the last four years.

More worryingly, research by Baring Asset Management also found that nearly half of those people hadn’t reviewed their long-term finances at all.

Just over a third of people had reviewed their pension plans. Within that group, only a little more than half of people aged 54-65 had looked at their long-term finances, despite coming up to retirement age.

Keep on top of your future finances with lovemoney's Plans

Why you need to keep track

If you’re managing your own investments, it’s especially important that you keep on top of what’s happening to them. Are they growing to provide the retirement pot you want? Do you need to move some into other assets?

If you’re investing for the longer-term future, say 10, 15 or 20 years, then stock market volatility now shouldn’t be too much of a concern.

But if you’re approaching retirement age, then it’s important to know how much money you’re likely to have. If your pot is going to be less than you were hoping for, then at least you have time to potentially take action before it decreases further.

Experts advise gradually moving out of potentially riskier investments such as stocks and shares as you approach retirement age and moving investments into the safer likes of cash and bonds. This is known as lifestyling.

Whatever your age, you should keep on top of your long-term savings and investments to avoid any nasty surprises in future. It also allows you to see if you’re over-weighted to one particular asset class, for example shares in emerging markets.

Keep on top of your future finances with lovemoney's Plans

How lovemoney can help

lovemoney’s new Plans tool lets you monitor all your savings and investments in one place, giving you a snapshot of your personal wealth.

What’s more, your investments are updated automatically via our quote engine so you don’t have to worry about updating spreadsheets all the time.

And this means you can easily see if you’re on track for the retirement fund you want whenever you want.

Keep on top of your future finances with lovemoney's Plans

More on future finances:

How to work out how much you need to save for retirement

Why pensions are now the best way to save

Beginner's guide to buying and selling shares

Making a will

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