Working into your late 60s or early 70s may seem far off. But, there are several advantages for your physical and mental health. It can also help you improve your finances later in life, providing you with enough money for retirement.

The current retirement age is rising.

The State Pension Age will increase to 67 for men and women by 2028 from the current 66. And that may already put you in your late-60s, depending on when you intend to retire.

At 55, you can now collect your company or personal pension. It’s anticipated that starting in 2028, you’ll have to be 57 years old to benefit from the pension freedoms.

Here are five reasons you should consider delaying your pension claim.

The Length Of Your Life Is Getting Longer

According to 2017 ONS data, those who are 65 years old today can anticipate living another 22.8 years.

Retirement funds will need to survive more than two decades past the age at which the State Pension begins to accrue and more than three decades past the point at which access to personal and company pensions becomes possible.

Dependence on retirement income for 20–30 years is a long time, especially if you didn’t save enough throughout your working years.

Pensions are expected to last longer the longer you wait to begin receiving them.

Using our online pension calculator, you may determine the basis for your retirement income at various retirement ages.

Your Pension Has More Time To Increase

Keep your pension invested for as long as possible to reap the most long-term rewards, regardless of whether you continue working and contributing to your pension or simply leave your assets undisturbed for a few years after retirement.

For instance, compound interest builds up over time and, when left untapped, can significantly increase a modest savings account’s balance.

Additionally, since your pension won’t need to last as long, you’ll be able to receive higher payouts when you do finally access it.

Flexi-access drawdown might be a smart option for you if you want to give your savings even more time to grow in value because it will allow you to take lump sums out whenever you need them while keeping the remainder of your pension invested in a combination of shares, cash, and bonds.

If you’re planning to retire during a recession and have noticed a decline in your pension balance, choosing to keep your money invested may be especially beneficial.

Depending on the specifics of your situation, you can decide to keep your savings invested until the markets stabilize and your balance increases.

Before Switching To Safer Investments, You Can Optimize Your Investment Potential

Some pension plans may automatically de-risk your investments as you get closer to retirement by changing the assets you invest in.

While shares and commodities, for instance, can make excellent investments early in your career and are closely correlated to market success, they can also become riskier as you approach retirement.

Your pension balance might be impacted if the markets suddenly turned bad, and there might not be enough time for it to recover before you retire.

However, you might be able to maximize your investments for a few more years if you want to retire later.

You should get in touch with your pension provider well in advance to see if they can change your investments because the transfer to cash or fixed-interest assets often occurs five to ten years before retirement.

Your Company Will Continue To Increase Your Pension

If you continue working, the law typically requires your employer to continue adding to your pension through auto-enrolment.

Beginning in April of this year, you will be required to contribute a minimum of 3% of your yearly salary, with your employer matching at least 2% of that amount.

In April 2019, this is expected to increase to 5% employee and 3% employer payments. As a result, starting in 2019, your company will be able to contribute an additional 3% of your salary to your workplace pension.

Postponing Your State Pension Could Increase Your Payments

There is a chance that you won’t require the State Pension when the time comes because it typically cannot be accessed until about ten years after your workplace or personal pension starts payable.

Delaying your State Pension may be a smart move if you have retirement income from other sources or are still employed.

You can get a lump sum payout or a greater weekly State Pension if you delay your State Pension for just a few weeks. Depending on when you achieve the State Pension age, you may be eligible for a certain sum.

Final Note

There’s an option to postpone when you begin collecting your state pension, even if you cannot receive it before retirement age.

You might get a lump-sum payout or a greater weekly state pension if you do this.

You are permitted to postpone receiving your pension for as long as you like, but you must defer the entire amount, including both your basic state pension and any accrued supplementary pension.

Even if you’ve already begun taking benefits from your pension, you can start delaying them to increase your income.

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