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How much do you need to have for a comfortable retirement?
Amy Woolliscroft4th July 2025
You might not have given this too much thought yet, but do you know how much you will need to be comfortable in your retirement?
Of course, this all depends on what you would like your retirement to look like – the things you would like to do, places you would like to see, and legacy you would like to leave your loved ones.
Research from the University of Loughborough and the Pension and Lifetime Savings Association has highlighted just how much cash we need to live a comfortable retirement. Critically, around 82%[1] of savers are completely blind as to how much they will need.
Everyone’s financial situation will be different, but for a ‘comfortable’ standard of living, the research indicates that a single person would need £43,900 per annum, and a couple would need £60,600 per annum.[1]
To find out the details of what the research assumes ‘minimum’, ‘moderate’ and ‘comfortable’ looks like, head to https://www.retirementlivingstandards.org.uk/
But why is all this important? Retirement should be a time to reap the rewards of your working life, but for many farmers and business owners, retirement planning hasn’t necessarily been part of the plan. Traditionally, the oldest generation would retain ownership of the farm or business, allowing them access to an ongoing income throughout their ‘retirement’, with the assets passing on to the next generation at death.
Since the changes proposed in the Autumn Budget 2024 to Inheritance Tax, Agricultural Property Relief, Business Property Relief and Pensions, that’s no longer a working reality; farmers and business owners will now need to make sure they can afford to retire and gift assets to the next generation to avoid a chunky bill from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
If you want to find out what steps you should be taking now – whatever your age and investment experience – please do get in touch with us on 01832 279170. We help identify and reach your goals by building solid financial plans with tailored advice for you.
This includes using our cashflow modelling program, Voyant, which helps model any plans you might already have in place, showing how tweaks to plans you already have in place could pan out, and also start from scratch with you if you are at the start of your retirement planning journey.
The really important message that we want to get across is don’t delay – start your retirement planning journey today with Accession, Chartered Financial Planners for farmers and rural businesses.
The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.
The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time. The value of any tax relief depends on individual circumstances.
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[1]Retirement Living Standards Report, Pension and Lifetime Savings Association, June 2025
SJP approved 4/7/2025