From Acorns Financial Planning - Latest Posts #Retirement IncomeFrom Acorns Financial Planning - Latest Posts #Retirement Incomehttps://www.fromacornsfp.com/blogs/tag/Retirement-IncomeWed, 11 Feb 2026 04:00:38 -0800http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[What is a good retirement income?]]>https://www.fromacornsfp.com/blogs/post/what-is-a-good-retirement-incomeWe dig deeper into the question of what is a good level of retirement income?]]>
Retirement Income

What is a good retirement income?

Let’s dig deeper into the question of what is a good level of retirement income? There is no doubt; the question is complicated as you may looking as much as 40 years into the future. Your goals will inevitably change throughout the years as your standard of living increases. We also know that life has a way of throwing spanners in the works. Unfortunately, we don’t know which spanners life will throw at us. But that is a question for another day.

For now, let’s focus on working out how much is enough for you to retire.

Where do I start?

Most people have no idea of how much they will need in retirement or where to start thinking about the question. Thankfully, there is some excellent research by Loughborough University and The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, published as the Retirement Living Standards. They have found that 77% of savers don’t know how much they will need in retirement, and only 16% of savers can give a figure. The scary figure is that more than half of people believe that the amount they save via the company auto-enrolment pension scheme is enough.

The standards they published are a fantastic starting point for discussions on how much of an annual income you need to financially independent or retire. I have found that this research has been a great help to most of my clients. The standards show what retirement life could look like at three different Retirement Income levels and breaks these down in detail.


For most of us, we will want to aim for at least the Comfortable Retirement Income in our early ‘active’ retirement years. If you are a high earner, you are liable to have loftier ambitions. As you age, lose mobility and enter into a more sedentary lifestyle, you may feel that a ‘Moderate Retirement Income’ may suffice. Regarding the ‘Minimum Retirement Income’, I do not think you would be reading this post if it satisfied your ambitions.


At From Acorns Financial Planning, we use the Retirement Living Standards as a starting point in our Cashflow Forecasting. We use Cashflow Forecasting software to model your entire financial future, running multiple scenarios. Cashflow Planning is an invaluable element of our service and helps you release if you are on track for your desired lifestyle.


If you would like answers to the questions, “What is a good retirement income?” then please contact us on 02886440475 or schedule an initial consultation here.


Retirement Living Standards. ‘Home - PLSA - Retirement Living Standards’. Accessed 3 May 2021. https://www.retirementlivingstandards.org.uk/.

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]]>Mon, 17 May 2021 14:30:00 +0000<![CDATA[How much do you need for Financial Independence?]]>https://www.fromacornsfp.com/blogs/post/how-much-do-you-needQuite simply, this is the critical question in financial planning. How much do you need to reach financial independence or retire? Yet it is a questio ]]>
Financial Independence

How much do you need for Financial Independence?

Quite simply, this is the critical question in financial planning. How much do you need to reach financial independence or retire? Yet it is a question most of our new clients have never fully considered.


Now, there is also a difference between financial independence and retirement. Reaching financial independence is where you have sufficient assets and passive income to stop working, if you chose to do so. In contrast, retirement is choosing to stop working entirely. More and more of our clients are more interested in the former.


But more to the point, how much is enough?


Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

How much is enough?

How much is enough?, is a very personal question for you to answer, especially where your target date is 20 or even 30 years in the future. Broadly speaking, you hope that your children are financially independent, that you are mortgage-free, and that you have no significant outgoings. You might want to consider what lifestyle you have now and what you would like to continue into retirement. There are many variables, and these become complicated by factors such as inflation, especially over 20, 30 years.


Traditionally many advisers, myself included, have targeted a percentage of your current income or a set annual income figure as the goal. Unfortunately, this is over-simplistic and, in my experience, not true to real life. In reality, your income needs will change over time. You will likely need a higher income level in the early years, where you are fitter and want to enjoy your new freedom. You may wish to travel and socialise more. As time passes and age catches up with you, your mobility will likely reduce, and your outgoings will inevitably fall accordingly.


All of this makes it difficult to answer the question, “How much is enough?”. At From Acorns Financial Planning, we use Cashflow Forecasting software to model your entire financial future. We run multiple scenarios as we cannot predict what life might throw at us in the future. Cashflow Planning is an invaluable element of our service and helps you release if you are on track for your desired lifestyle.


If you would like answers to the questions, “When will I be financially independent?” or “ When can I retire?” then please contact us on 02886440475 or schedule an initial consultation here.

Book a Consultation Now
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