Especially when it comes to retirement.
I was really interested to read an article recently published in the UK press about regrets many pensioners have when they do eventually retire.
Hindsight is not always a wonderful thing
By Jeremy Ferguson
This article is published on: 28th October 2025
The number one regret was not saving enough early on in their lives, with many retirees wishing they had started saving into their pensions earlier, or having increased the amount they paid into their pensions when their incomes were higher later on in their careers.
Next unsurprisingly was under-estimating how much you’ll eventually need to retire with. The common issue in this regard was being overly optimistic about how secure their retirement finances would be given longevity, inflation, healthcare costs, etc. In all fairness, all of these factors are very hard to predict over the longer term.
One thing we now know is that the advances in medical treatments and care are resulting in longer life expectancy, and a better physical well being. All of this means we are living longer and being much more active in retirement, both of which cost more.
The importance of actively managing pension arrangements was again largely under estimated, with many retirees wishing they’d made clearer plans earlier. For example, when to retire, where they may be retiring and what sort of lifestyle they wanted. As these ‘wants’ changed during their younger years leading up to retirement, many people simply didn’t adjust their pensions accordingly.
Inevitably this is easier said than done, making it one of the most difficult decisions to get right, because of course it’s almost impossible. Some retirees feel they were too cautious with their money in their younger years, with others maybe enjoying life a tiny bit too much and then finding out they either couldn’t enjoy retirement fully because they hadn’t contributed enough, or conversely finding out their pension income far exceeded their needs in retirement.
Needless to say that if you are reading this and you have already retired, then these observations may all be a little too late. However, many people I meet after they have moved to Spain have retired quite early in life and are not yet drawing on their pensions. In these cases, there is still a lot you can do, particularly by way of managing these pension funds as effectively as possible. Ie Maybe the charges can be reduced or the investment strategy can be improved? Also, what about the tax position when you do start to draw down – understanding this and making sure it’s as tax efficient as possible can make a big difference.
Retirement planning is also not always about your pensions, it is often about managing your savings as well, and many people I speak to come here with funds they didn’t plan to have accumulated as a result of selling their UK property, which had increased impressively in value over the years.
If managed correctly and invested in the right way, these funds can in many cases be used to substitute pension income and help you enjoy living here in Spain.
If this is you, then please feel free to get in touch so we can take a good look at your current situation and if relevant consider the available options as to how best to manage things going forward.