7 WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR PENSION

I went to fill up my car with diesel yesterday.  To be honest, I'd been a bit remiss and had let it get so low that it was just about running on fumes.  It's only a small car, but it cost me £48.00 (hate to think what a 4x4 costs to fill up). My car is an essential for me.  I don't live on a convenient bus route and whilst I walk and cycle a bit, it's not so easy at my age.  So this £48.00 was an essential spend for me, like it is for so many other people of my generation.  £48.00 is pretty much a half of the basic State pension.  That's a big chunk for every pensioner in this country, so I thought it might be useful if I came up with 7 ways of supplementing your pension.  Here goes (in no particular order):-

1.  Make sure you are claiming everything that you are entitled to from the Government.  There's a free and comprehensive guide available from the Department for Work and Pensions.  Click here to see a copy.
2.  Start your own business (it's never too late) and you can work from home, part-time if you wish.  There's a free eBook that will give you some ideas that you can download here.
3.  Manage your money. If you just need some help managing your finances without any jargon or sales pitch, there's a Government backed website worth looking at here.
4.  Keep working.  Just because you've reached the so-called retirement age doesn't mean you have to give up working.  There's a complimentary article about working in retirement you can find here.
5. Make a 27% return on your investment!  This is a brief article that I wrote about in a previous blog, but it's important and worth repeating.  You can see the blog here.  Alternatively you can get the full details from this Government website.
 6.  Equity release. This can generate an income for you without having to move away from your home, but it should not be your first option. There's a free article about it here.
7.  Share with someone else.  OK, this is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it makes sense.  If you're living alone, think about renting out a room or maybe finding a new partner to move in with! If you're not sure how to go about it, have a look at this site for finding new friends.

Hope this helps.

Be well.