Amanda Hibbert has a tattoo on her arm stating: “You only live once” and it sums up her attitude to the conundrum of spending now or saving for retirement.
The 63-year-old is far from wealthy and only has around £30,000 in her pension pot. But she has already been to Australia, Bali and Italy this year, with another four trips planned in the coming months.
She told The i Paper she is dipping into her £50,000 savings now to enjoy travelling to different countries, saying she would sooner enjoy life now while she is healthy and worry about whether she has enough money for retirement when she gets there.
Amanda revealed that her two children told her they would rather she enjoy her money now than have money left to them as an inheritance in the future.
“You just don’t know what is around the corner and I want to experience life and enjoy my money while I am healthy.
“You hear so many stories about people who save all their life for retirement – but then can’t enjoy life because they are too ill or have issues with their mobility and can’t travel.”
Amanda, who lives in Halifax, West Yorkshire and has a 28-year-old daughter and a 25-year-old son, got divorced three years ago and lives in a three-bedroom house which is mortgage-free following the divorce.
While she admits she is worried about running out of money in retirement and the small size of her pension pot, she says her focus now is enjoying experiences and making memories with her children.
“Both my children encourage me to spend my money and say: ‘Enjoy what bit of money you have now, as we’d rather do stuff with you now than have money left from your pension’.
“I will worry about what I need in retirement when I get to it.”
She added: “When I was younger, I paid into my pension, but because I worked part-time to fit around my children and was on a lower wage, my private pension won’t be a lot. So as things stand, I won’t get much extra on top of the state pension.
“I worked for an insurance broker for 32 years, but I only worked part-time when I was married. Since the divorce three years ago, I have been working full-time for a support company for children in care between the ages of 16 and 18.
“I was working around 50 to 60 hours a week in children’s homes because they were always stuck for staff. But I have recently become bank staff as I want to cut down to around 25 to 35 hours a week instead.”
Amanda has around £50,000 in savings left over from the sale of the property after her split from her ex-husband and is dipping into that to fund her travels.
Her son has gone travelling for three years and is living in Australia, so she went to visit him and then they spent Christmas together with her daughter in Bali.
Amanda’s two children told her they would rather she enjoy her money now
“I am spending my money on experiences with my children now, rather than worrying about leaving them an inheritance after I’ve gone,” she explained. “They agree this is the best thing. When it comes to birthdays, we buy trips for each other, instead of buying materialistic things.
“Obviously, I worry about not having enough in retirement, but I am lucky that I am mortgage-free and have savings to dip into.
“If need be, and things get harder financially in retirement, I will sell my home and buy somewhere smaller to free up some cash.
“I need to keep working at the moment for living costs and so I can keep paying into my pension. But I hope to be able to retire when I get to state pension age at 67.”
New research from Skipton Building Society reveals that Amanda is not alone when it comes to those approaching retirement wanting to make the most of their money.
Skipton’s analysis found that even when combined with the state pension, a £100,000 pension pot would only cover around four to five years of retirement for someone living at a moderate level, as defined by the Retirement Living Standards.
The figures for Amanda’s age group, covering 55 to 64-year-olds, found that 64 per cent of people want to spend their pension earlier to enjoy retirement while fit and active and 21 per cent want to travel the world.
Helen McGinty, head of financial advice distribution at Skipton Building Society, said: “There is a growing trend of those approaching retirement wanting to make the most of their money while they feel fit and able to enjoy it.
“Travel and experiences are high on the priority list, reflecting a shift towards living for the moment rather than delaying plans for later life.
“But while it is encouraging to see people thinking about how they want to live in retirement, there is a risk that these plans aren’t always matched by longer term financial preparation.
“The earlier you start planning, the more options and flexibility you’ll have later on. Small steps taken today can make a huge difference to how comfortably – and confidently – you’re able to live in the future.”