Retirementality

While retirement may feel like years in the distance, the reality is that planning is absolutely vital right now for those who wish to retire early. With that in mind, RetailWealth outlines how to ensure your financial independence for a fulfilling future

Retirement is an unnatural phase in the modern life course. Inserted between work and death, it can be seen as intrusive and invented by a past society for a purpose that no longer applies to modern society

Is it really intrusive though? Retirement could instead be viewed as a life event that can be manipulated in your favour to live a more purposeful life. A number that you can aspire to beat.

As a business owner, retirement may seem like a far-off event that you can’t even imagine. However, the truth is that retirement is no longer an endpoint but a phase of life that can span decades. Unlike previous generations who worked for one company for many years, today’s retirees are more likely to have multiple careers and may continue working well into their 70s or 80s. This means that planning for retirement should be top of mind for those who wish to retire early.

Personal Fulfilment

One of the key aspects of retirement planning is to focus on personal fulfilment. While it’s easy to imagine retirement as a time of leisure, golf and travel, it’s important to remember that it’s also a time to pursue new interests, take on meaningful projects, and give back to the community By seeking out what truly fulfils you and makes you happy, you will be more likely to enjoy a fulfilling retirement.

Financial planning is also crucial for early retirement. While saving money for retirement is important, it’s equally vital to invest wisely to ensure a steady income stream during retirement. Starting early and taking risks can enable significant wealth creation, and a wellstructured retirement plan can help you achieve your goals. Retirementality should not just focus on pension relief though

A Life of Significance

At Retailwealth, we propose a new way of thinking about retirement. We suggest that people should focus on living a “life of significance” instead of striving for traditional retirement goals. This puts a greater emphasis on personal fulfilment, a sense of purpose and work that is rewarding.

Retirement doesn’t have to mean the end of work altogether. It should mean a movement to re-engineer financial independence to retire early by utilising traditional retirement thinking with a modern twist of financial planning. We call this Retirementality

Lifestyle Financial Planning

It’s time to change attitudes towards aging. We argue that society needs to move away from the idea that retirement means becoming useless and unproductive. Instead, we need to see the value and unique skills that older adults bring to the table. Early retirement opens up a long stretch of life that can be shaped to the individual’s preference. The way we achieve this is through meticulous Lifestyle Financial Planning. We utilise traditional pension relief with modern thinking around business reliefs. Pension relief provides up to €200,000 tax free and is available from 60.

If Retirementality is present, the new age thinkers will see retirement as a way of taking tax free money from a business rather than the commencement of decades of late rises, pipes and slippers. Retirement relief, a way of extracting up to €750,000 from a business from 55 and Entrepreneurial Relief (a 10% tax on goodwill up to €1 million - ageless) can accelerate financial independence in advance of historical retirement techniques. The above reliefs positioned alongside the possibility of retiring in tax efficient jurisdictions, means you can essentially afford to retire many years earlier due to the fact that less tax will be paid on your pension capital. Portugal for example, allows those who register for the Non Habitual Residency Programme to pay just a 10% tax on pension benefits. Less tax means more money for you!

In conclusion, early retirement planning is a complex and evolving process that requires a unique and creative approach. By adopting a “retirementality” mindset that focuses on personal fulfilment, financial planning, access to tax efficient money and work in a wider context, you can find a new, more fulfilling way to approach retirement or the work optional stage of life.

The above does not constitute financial advice. ■