No pension savings at 60? I think it’s still possible to retire wealthy with these tips

Rupert Hargreaves looks at some of the options available to potential retirees with limited savings who still want to retire wealthy.

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For those who’ve reached 60 years of age with no pension savings, there’s no need to worry. I think it’s still possible to retire wealthy by making a few simple lifestyle changes. 

Retire wealthy

The best way to improve retirement prospects at any stage of life is to increase savings. Even if it’s just an extra few £100 a month, it’s impossible to improve retirement prospects in a relatively short space of time by increasing savings. 

Another strategy worth following is to pay off any outstanding debt. This is always a sensible financial strategy. It might be even more sensible ahead of retirement. Doing so would allow one to gain a better picture of their financial situation and remove any regular costs, which could impact income in retirement. It would also improve savings. As mentioned, to retire wealthy it’s imperative to save more. 

Investing in the stock market could be an excellent way to deploy any extra funds. Most stocks and shares now offer a higher level of income than that offered by savings accounts. These investments could help grow a nest egg at a faster rate. 

For example, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, two of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, support dividend yields of between 2% and 5%. Buying some of these stocks alongside a pension could help improve long-term returns. 

Set up a budget 

Budgeting and planning can help improve any financial situation. This is another essential tip on the path to retire wealthy. Budgeting lets one know how much money they’ve saved, and how much to spend. This might seem like an arduous task, but the extra effort is almost certainly worth the reward. In my opinion, setting up a budget is one of the easiest strategies to follow to improve financial situations. 

Extra work 

Unfortunately, reaching 60 years of age with no pension savings doesn’t allow much time to build a sizeable financial nest-egg before retirement. In this case, it may be beneficial to work a few more years to build up an acceptable level of savings to reach that ‘retire wealthy’ goal.

This doesn’t necessarily mean staying in the workplace. The rise of the gig economy means that it’s never been easier to take on a part-time job. Many of these can be done from home in spare time. 

Taking on a few hours a week of extra work would provide additional cash, reducing the impact of day-to-day spending on a retirement pot. To put it another way, it could make pension savings last a lot longer. 

A plan to retire wealthy 

All in all, it’s still possible to retire wealthy with no pension savings at 60. However, it does require a little extra work and effort. Still, I think this is a trade-off worth accepting, especially considering the potential rewards on offer. 

If one’s willing to take on a bit more risk, buying high-quality growth shares could accelerate wealth creation. This may allow an investor to dramatically improve their retirement prospects and retire wealthy in a relatively compressed amount of time. 

Should you invest, the value of your investment may rise or fall and your capital is at risk. Before investing, your individual circumstances should be assessed. Consider taking independent financial advice.

Rupert Hargreaves owns no share mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended GlaxoSmithKline. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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