Retirement saving: 3 smart money moves I’d make today to beat the rising State Pension age

Here’s how Peter Stephens looks to retire early despite a rising State Pension age.

Peter Stephens

Having held various senior management positions in the manufacturing sector, Peter founded his own manufacturing company in 1996. This was subsequently sold in 2007. Meanwhile, his passion for investing (which began during the privatisations of the 1980s) remains strong and he couples this with writing for The Motley Fool as a Contractor. His investment style is value-oriented; focusing on company fundamentals, as well as assessing the strength and presence of a competitive advantage. While above-average growth prospects remain very attractive, a greater focus on dividends has crept in since Peter became a part-time retiree in 2007.

Published 6 July, 2019 8:15 am BST

The content of this article was relevant at the time of publishing. Circumstances change continuously and caution should therefore be exercised when relying upon any content contained within this article.

With the State Pension age expected to rise to 68 over the coming decades, the dream of retiring early may seem to be ebbing away for many people.

Furthermore, an expected increase in life expectancy could mean that State Pension age continues to rise over the long run as a result of affordability issues for the working population.

This, though, doesn’t necessarily mean retiring early is becoming impossible. Building a nest egg that provides a generous income in older age is still a very realistic aim for many.

With that in mind, here are three steps I’d take today to achieve the goal of retiring early and, in doing so, beating the rising State Pension age.

International growth

While there are a number of appealing investing opportunities in the UK at present, investing in the world’s fastest-growing economies could prove to be a shrewd move.

Emerging markets may be a relatively common theme among investors, having been a popular means of generating growth in the past. However, this doesn’t mean it’s now ‘yesterday’s news’, since the rise of the consumer in major economies such as India and China could provide significant growth opportunities across a wide range of sectors.

Accessing those sectors and companies is relatively straightforward for UK-based investors. This can be achieved through buying shares in stocks that operate mostly in emerging markets, or even through buying tracker funds that aim to mimic the returns on local indices. Investment trusts that focus on emerging markets could be another means of accessing the growth potential of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

Technological change

Technological change is likely to remain a key component of future economic growth. Therefore, seeking to capitalise on it as an investor could be a sound move.

At present, artificial intelligence seems to be a likely growth area over the long run. It has the potential to improve efficiency across a wide variety of businesses, while changing experiences for consumers in a number of different industries.

Although there are relatively few technology companies listed in the FTSE 350, in the US there are a wide range of large businesses focused on AI and other fast-growing areas. As such, investing in them today, either directly or through a fund, could produce high returns in the long run.

Diversify

Clearly, it’s impossible to know exactly how the world economy will perform in future. Therefore, anyone looking to build a nest egg for retirement should have a high degree of diversification within their portfolio.

Although diversification may seem to dilute returns during bull markets in the eyes of some investors, they may be glad they aren’t overly reliant on a small number of stocks or industries during recessions and bear markets. Then it may keep their portfolio afloat and provide them with the opportunity to retire early on a generous passive income.