At 45 I've worked for more years than I have left before I retire.Scary. A lot changes as birthdays pass, but thoughts of retirement surprised me when they started firing on my synapses - surely I'm too young for that. What's bothering me is that the thoughts are not about what I'll do with all that spare time, but rather how on earth I'm going to afford it. Pension statements dropping through the door from past employers are to blame - a constant reminder that something needs to be done.
I have six small pension pots that I really ought to consolidate into a SIPP (Self Invested Personal Pension) because, frankly, I'm running out of drawer space for all the mailings that I receive. Unless I get these things in some sort of order they're going to get neglected until I hit 65 - and then it'll be too late. Problem: whilst I want to give myself and my family a decent retirement, I'm not so different from anyone else when it comes to this stuff - my long-term financial goals are not aligned to my short-term priorities.
But just how do you prioritise the time to spend on a task that I imagine will take several hours when there is so much else to do? Life just doesn't stop. Our work days have extended into our evenings and weekends and even our holidays - I heard tell of a colleague whose BlackBerry was despatched into the hotel pool due to distracting work emails spoiling the hard-earned family holiday! Work/life balance is a real issue and sitting in front of a computer in the evenings trying to sort out your pension provision is not a great stress reliever.
And what about all this 'spare time' in retirement? My generation is apparently the first where people will be less well-off than their parents. Already the effects of that can be seen - grandparents are having to cover childcare for working mums, they assist with education costs and all too often Grandad is invited round not for a special lunch, but to put a shelf up that Daddy is too busy to do.
So, what, I'll be running at a pace until I drop? I hope not. But there's no way I'll be able to fund my grandchildren's nursery fees rather than look after them myself unless I get on to this pension thing, and soon. At least one good thing about time marching on is the evolution of technology. I may not want to sit in front of the computer of an evening to open my SIPP, but at least it's made easier these days and I don't have to leave the house. I'll see if I can squeeze it in between arriving home late from work, checking my BlackBerry, rushing some food down and taking that early night I need so much because I'm frazzled. Pension planning at 10pm - good that you can, but not what we'd planned. Welcome to Generation Busy!