Saving stories

I couldn’t start planning for my retirement until later in life – I’ll stop work soon and I’m budgeting for how much I’ll need to get by. I use the retirement planning tools to get an idea of how much income I’ll have. I like the fact I can see how much my small pension pot and state pension will be combined. I can work out how much the different retirement options will get me and if I’ll have enough to cover the basics.

I’m quite conservative about money – I’m very conscious about how I spend and save it. The industry I work in is changing and I have to think about what would happen if my skills weren’t needed. I don’t want to fritter anything away and I always research deals and saving. I like saving with Aviva because I can look at everything I’m saving online. It’s easy to think about my options that way.

There’s never been a huge amount to put aside after paying rent and bills. I started putting a little bit extra in my pension a few years ago and it’s good to see it looks like it might help me later.

I’m still responsible for a lot for the next six or seven years and then I think I’ll start to be more carefree. Once the kids have left home and I’ve paid off the mortgage, I can start to enjoy myself. Retirement is the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve worked hard and put quite a bit aside in my workplace pension– it gives me peace of mind to know it looks like I’m on track to have a comfortable retirement.

I'm trying to work out how much I should be contributing to achieve the lifestyle I want in retirement. I was finding it difficult to understand, but I have been using my online account to help me work it out as it shows me how much I've saved and what this could produce in retirement. At the moment my contributions are going into funds chosen by my employer, but when I am more confident and after speaking to a financial adviser, I'll choose where I should invest my funds.