Blog: Talk money - How Age Scotland can help

This week is Talk Money Week, an annual campaign aimed at getting the nation talking about money.

Managing our finances is an important aspect of life right through from childhood to later life. We often associate money management with living in the moment; paying the bills and saving for treats or special occasions, but we don’t always give enough time to planning for the future and ensuring that we’re adequately prepared for life after work.

Age Scotland can help you to deal with important money matters in later life, here’s how:

Encouraging thinking ahead

Our pre-retirement ‘Planning for your Future’ workshops give people the opportunity to think about their finances and how best to prepare for retirement whilst they’re still working. It’s an opportunity to spend time hearing from Independent Financial Advisors about important issues such as pensions, tax, savings and investments and to make sure we’re really informed about the various options available to us now and in the future. The workshop also covers legal matters such as Power of Attorney and the importance of nominating a trusted friend or relative to look after our affairs should the need arise.

Offering the chance to do some planning

Just as we plan our finances day-to-day, we should also be budgeting for the future too. There’s a strong link between our financial wellbeing and our general health so it’s important that we take the time to think about our financial requirements in later life.

How much money will we need in retirement? How much will our pension cover and will we need to explore part-time work or other income streams? The Age Scotland workshop can help provide us with the tools to do this and encourages us to think of all types of future expenditure from everyday costs to hobbies and holidays.

Providing support where needed

By thinking about later life money matters now, we can flag up any additional support we might need rather than worrying about the future. Our new debt management webinar is now part of the Planning For Your Future workshop and offers information about all types of debt, no matter how big or small.

In partnership with Scotland’s largest firm of independent chartered accountants and business advisers, Johnston Carmichael, the session explains debt and the ways in which to manage it, either on our own or with the help of professional organisations. The Age Scotland helpline can also help you understand whether there are benefits that you could be entitled to.

For more information on our workshops visit www.age.scot/planning-for-your-future 

For information and advice on benefits and other money matters, contact our helpline.