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Image source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
It\u2019ll be at least around two-to-three decades before I\u2019m ready to claim the State Pension. But I\u2019m not leaving my retirement plans to chance, or on the decisions of a future government wrestling with an ageing population and probably enormous public debts.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s why I hold a Cash ISA, Stocks and Shares ISA<\/a> and a couple of Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs)<\/a>, and invest in them at every opportunity. But am I overreacting?<\/p>\n Should you buy HSBC Holdings shares today?\t<\/p>\n Before you decide, please take a moment to review this report first. Despite ongoing uncertainties from US tariffs to global conflicts, Mark Rogers and his team believe many UK shares still trade at substantial discounts, offering savvy investors plenty of potential opportunities to learn about.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why this could be an ideal time to secure this valuable research \u2013 Mark\u2019s analysts have scoured the markets to reveal 5 of his favourite long-term \u2018Buys\u2019. Please, don\u2019t make any big decisions before seeing them.<\/p>\n Latest research from Scottish Widows suggests no. The financial services giant says that\u2026<\/p>\n 31% of UK adults are currently at risk of failing to cover their basic needs in retirement \u2013 that\u2019s equivalent to a worrying 12.2m people.<\/p>\n What\u2019s going on?<\/p>\n So, 12.2m people add up to 12.2m reasons to think hard about my own retirement. Scottish Widows based its findings \u201con savings, behaviours and income sources\u201d and by \u201ccomparing expected income to potential living and housing costs in retirement.\u201d To me, it made for chilling reading. But on the other hand, I wasn\u2019t that surprised by those findings.<\/p>\n Why? It\u2019s not just that people aren\u2019t investing or saving enough for later years. To me, it also largely reflects the meagre size of the State Pension today, and what benefit levels are likely to be in the coming decades.<\/p>\n UK retirees only get 22% of their income from the state. According to the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index, that\u2019s the worst among all the G7 nations. Will things get better? I\u2019m not so sure.<\/p>\n Official forecasts suggest the UK\u2019s pension-age population will rise by almost a quarter between now and 2049, to 15.3m people. How that bill gets paid is the awkward bit few politicians want to talk about.<\/p>\n What should you do?<\/p>\n The good news is it\u2019s never too late to start saving and investing for retirement. Even those who are struggling as the cost-of-living crisis drags on can use tax-efficient ISAs to harness the power of the stock market and create wealth.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say you\u2019re a 50-year-old with just \u00a3250 a month to invest. If you can achieve the typical 9% average return long-term investors tend to enjoy (which isn\u2019t guaranteed), you\u2019ll have a of \u00a3142,689 by the time you reach State Pension age.<\/p>\n This would then throw off a yearly passive income of almost \u00a310,000 if invested in 7%-yielding dividend shares. <\/p>\n Doing the work today<\/p>\n Obviously the earlier you start and the more you invest, the larger your retirement pot can be thanks to the long-term impact of compounding. But if you can\u2019t do either of those things, you can still get ahead by doing careful research to find the very best stocks to buy.<\/p>\n