ruth901
Smart to your fortuneNo money for later? How to save your pension at 50!
Start planning for retirement when you're over 50? This is by no means an impossible task, but it does require perseverance.
picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn / Zacharie Scheurer
Better late than never: Even if you're over 50, there are still ways to make private provisions for retirement. Which options make sense – and which are not suitable.
Consumers who can afford it should actually start making provisions for their old age as early as possible. You can accumulate considerable wealth with comparatively small savings amounts and the effect of compound interest. The later you start, the larger the savings must be to achieve the same result. But it is not uncommon for the project to fall by the wayside for a long time – for example because of other financial obligations.
Anyone who is over 50 and takes a look at their documents often finds that there is a risk of a pension gap – i.e. a difference between the usual net income before retirement and the actual retirement income, for example through the statutory pension. Two experts explain what those affected can do in the comparatively limited period before retirement to save money for their later years.
Ralf Scherfling from the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center in Düsseldorf advises those affected to proceed in a structured manner and take their time to find the right solution for themselves. Above all, it must be clarified whether the pension gap simply means that one has to reduce the previous standard of living or whether it means that normal living costs cannot be met permanently. If you can and want to reduce your current standard of living without any problems, you may have less of a problem than if you don't have enough money for rent and food in old age.
The first thing to do is to check what your finances will look like after you retire. Specifically: What income is there – and what expenses are there? Those affected then check the pension amount stated in the pension information from the German Pension Insurance. In order to precisely identify a possible pension gap, they check
Once it is clear how high the pension gap is, a decision must be made as to how it should be closed. Should a certain capital stock be saved from which regular withdrawals can be made on one's own initiative? Or do you prefer a pension that is paid for life? Or do you choose a third way?
In general, with regard to the pension gap, the following applies: Anyone in their early 50s has more options due to the approximately 15 years of time still available than someone who is approaching or has already passed the age of 60.
Sources used: awi/dpa
