When you were in your twenties and started your retirement fund, 65 seemed to be so far away. You probably thought that by the time you retired you wouldn’t have to worry about things like budgeting and other monetary woes. Unfortunately this isn’t quite true.

Because people are living longer than before, retirement savings don’t go as far as they need to, in fact according to recent statistics the average number of years you will live after retirement is 18 to 23, which has increased by at least 10 years from the 1950’s!

If you’re getting on in age, take a look at these tips and start considering how you can make your money stretch a bit further when you do retire – getting old with no money isn’t a pleasant thought.

1)   Start to adjust your budget

Your monthly or yearly budget is currently based on the income that you receive from your job, however depending on how much you have saved over the years, your retirement fund income will most probably differ. This is why you should start to review your budget and see where you can adjust it to what your new needs may be. Look for ways to cut out expenses that you won’t necessarily need anymore.

2)   Carry on investing

Over the years we are sure you have opened different investment policies or savings accounts and hopefully they have grown quite considerably. Our advice to you is that instead of emptying these accounts as soon as you hit retirement age, carry on putting money into them each month, even if it is a small amount. They will come in handy when your retirement payouts start to decrease.

We recommend that you look at other alternatives to saving for retirement over and above your retirement annuity.

3)   Rethink your living space

Where will you live? Your big family home may not be practical from a cost point of view. Whether you’ll downsize, move to the coast or take up residence in a retirement village, it may be worth buying now and renting out. You could pay off the bond while you’re still earning and when you sell your current home, will have some extra cash for a debt-free retirement.

And a big P.S. for those who have hit retirement already; many stores, especially supermarkets such as Spar, Checkers and Pick n’ Pay, offer pensioner discounts on specific days of the week. Rather do your shopping on these days so that you can save some money – a little bit goes a long way.