Review your options

The Retirement Calculator will help show you in basic terms how close you are to meeting your income goals. If your current plans don't put you in the position you'd like to be, you can use your results to explore a number of options - like changing the amount you put into your savings, increasing your pension contributions or using any property you may have accumulated to boost your retirement income. You'll immediately see the difference this could make.

Bear in mind you may need to think about factors such as your attitude to risk, fund performance, charges and tax implications if you take action on some of the following. It's a good idea to talk to us or a financial adviser before making any decisions. There may be a charge for financial advice.

Change your goals

Change your retirement age
Generally the longer you pay into a pension scheme the more it should provide in retirement. You can also get a slightly higher state pension if you don't claim it straight away.

The state retirement age is currently 65 for men and 60 for women however, for women this age has been gradually rising since 2010 and will continue to rise to 65 until December 2018. The state retirement age will rise to 66 for both men and women by April 2020. Company and personal pension schemes usually allow you to take benefits from age 55. But bear in mind that the earlier you retire the less time your fund will have to grow and the longer it will need to last.

Change your target income
You might want to re-evaluate your plans to see whether you can spend a little less now and save more, or reduce the amount you need as income after you retire.

Pensions

Increase your pension contributions
Saving in a pension scheme has tax benefits. Existing pension schemes to which you are still contributing often let you top up your savings with regular monthly contributions or one-off lump sums. Employer schemes may match your contributions. If you don't already have a pension scheme, find out more about setting one up in our pensions guide.

Savings and investments

Boost savings and investments
Consider topping up existing savings and investments products or taking out new ones to draw on in retirement. There are many options available, including tax-efficient schemes like ISAs and 'National Savings and Investments'. Find out more in our investments guide.

Cash in savings and investments
If you have money in savings and investments that you don't need as an emergency fund, think about using it to boost your retirement income. Before cashing in any of your assets, first find out if there will be any associated charges and consider any tax advantages for keeping them. You could also move growth-oriented funds into income-producing alternatives and consider using your capital gains tax yearly allowance. Read more in our investments guide.

Property

Downsize your home
If you no longer need such a large home - if your children have moved away for example - you might want to look at ways of releasing some cash to boost your retirement income. One way is to downsize to a smaller home and invest the proceeds.

Use your home - equity release
If you are property rich but cash poor you can consider taking out a lifetime mortgage or home reversion scheme. These pay out lump sums of cash or provide an income while letting you stay in your home for life.

Use other property
If you own more than one property, consider using it for rental income, or selling it to boost your funds. Bear in mind you may be liable for income tax on rental income and for capital gains tax if you sell a second home.

Other things to consider

You won't be able to investigate these options with the calculator, but other choices you could consider include:

Choose the right annuity
When the time comes to turn your pension fund into an income, you will normally buy an annuity in exchange for a regular income for the rest of your life. There are many types of annuity available, and shopping around before you buy can make a big difference to your retirement income. Find out more in our annuities guide.

Combine pension pots
Moving your pensions into a single plan could make your money grow faster. However, please speak to an adviser before doing so, as you could lose benefits by transferring, such as protected tax-free cash and guaranteed annuity rates.

Make the most of your ISA allowance
For ISA investors aged 18 or over, you can put up to £10,680 into an ISA for the 2011/12 tax year of which up to £5,340 can be saved in cash.

For investors aged 16 and 17, you can invest in a cash only ISA and the limit for this is £5,340. Read our guide to ISAs to find out more.

Important points

• The value of an investment may fluctuate and is therefore not guaranteed. You may not get back the full amount of your investment.
• The above is based on our understanding, as at 6 April 2011, of current taxation, legislation and HM Revenue & Customs practice, all of which are liable to change without notice. The impact of taxation (and any tax reliefs) depends on individual circumstances.