This weekend will see tens of thousands of runners pounding London’s streets. Both elite and fun runners will be tackling the world’s greatest marathon, some in the pursuit of a personal best, some as a personal challenge and just aiming to finish, and some raising thousands of pounds for charity.
But what’s this got to do with your pension?
There’s lots of preparation that goes into running a marathon, much like investing for your retirement.
The ups and downs
The runners will have spent months training for the marathon and they will have experienced ups and downs. They will have had days where their legs don’t want to travel another step, and days where they could have kept going, but always with their eye on race day – the culmination of all their efforts.
Pension investments will go up and down too – that’s the nature of investing. Generally, you’re investing for the long term, so should be able to see out the troughs, until the culmination of these financial efforts – retirement! Please remember though that you could still get back less than you invest.
Research and preparation
Being prepared will help the runners feel as comfortable as they can on race day. Doing their research into shoes and running kit in plenty of time before the marathon will reduce the risks of throbbing blisters and painful chafing.
And the same is true with pensions and retirement planning – doing your research is key. Maybe you’ll find that where your pension is invested by default isn’t quite right for you. Perhaps there are other funds or investments that suit your circumstances better.
You don’t need to be an expert to make changes to your pension – whether that’s adding new money, choosing to move from one fund to another, or investing in more than just one fund.
Choosing your own funds still means you have a fund manager carefully investing the money for you.
If you want to choose your own funds, our Research Team share their best investment ideas to help you. It’s not personal advice but it could be a useful starting point.
See investment ideas online »Checking your progress
A training plan helps runners benchmark their progress during training and ensures they can make it all the way around the course on Sunday.
And there’s no reason why a pension should be any different. Logging into your online account allows you to track your pension’s value over time and check you’re on track for the retirement you want. And being aware if things aren’t quite going to plan will give you time to change your course of action too.
Getting support
On Sunday, the support of thousands of people will help the runners keep going – even when their legs don’t want to!
Your employer is supporting you too by contributing to your pension, ready for your life after work. Take advantage of this valuable benefit - perhaps they will increase their contributions if you do too. It could have a big impact on your pension pot – use the pension calculator to find out just how much. If you are unsure of your employer’s level of support, please contact your HR department. Remember that money in a pension is not usually accessible until age 55 (rising to 57 in 2028).
And we’re here to support you too. You can call or email our friendly Helpdesk on 0117 314 1795 or email invest@hl.co.uk six days a week (even we need a rest day), including evenings.
This article isn’t personal advice. If you are at all unsure whether an investment is right for you, please seek advice.