Equality Wealth launches in Manchester region

Equality Wealth was established to provide specialist information on LGBT Financial issues and will be producing regular topical updates which will be featured in the Equality Wealth section on the site. We will also be organising regular educational seminars on specific Financial issues for the LGBT Community, the first of which is on retirement and featured below.Equality Wealth was established to provide specialist information on LGBT Financial issues and will be producing regular topical updates which will be featured in the Equality Wealth section on the site. We will also be organising regular educational seminars on specific Financial issues for the LGBT Community, the first of which is on retirement and featured below.

Click here for our free LGBT retirement guide  

There have been significant developments over recent years for our community including formal partnerships and equal marriage but many people, especially the older section of our community are still not open or comfortable in talking about their sexuality or same-sex partner. This can often lead to people not having access to the correct information or correct advice. The first topic to be covered is that of gay retirement. This is a particular issue for the LGBT community for the reasons covered in the article but there are many other issues we face, such as same-sex partner protection and buying a property with a partner, which will be covered in future articles.

Equality Wealth has also partnered with number of specialist LGBT accredited advisers which it has vetted to make sure they provide a confidential and honest service for our Community. In the North West we are working with Kath Wilkinson - an out-and-proud member of our community. People in our community who are thinking about retirement, protecting their partner or purchasing a property can get a free consultation with Kath and even if you’re not ‘out’ you can feel comfortable that you can talk about your situation with her.

As Gay people, we are often told that we are understood to have higher disposable income as many of us do not have children and are more likely to have  moved to bigger Cities like Manchester to experience 

a more open ‘gay lifestyle’. We may also have the opportunity to live our retirement dream, be it a place on the beach in the sun or a cool pad in the City. However, many of us have not planned adequately for retirement and may find the opposite to be true.

Gay people are not alone in not planning adequately for retirement – it’s something that much of the population prefer to ‘think about later’. As gay people, we do however have some additional issues to consider. Many of us grew up in a time when we could not have imagined the open lifestyle that’s possible today. Indeed, many of the LGBTIs who will retire over the next couple of decades will probably have spent a number of years ‘in the closet’ and will not have thought about a ‘gay retirement. Many will also have lived through an era where HIV/AIDS had a big impact on how we thought about the future. As such, for many, retirement planning may be starting later in life and require much more attention. Additionally, now that we have achieved a lifestyle we like, the last thing we want to do is go back to living in a location where we don’t have access to a vibrant LGBT Community, with the implication that we likely wish to spend our retirement in a location with a relatively higher cost of living. 

So what issues should we be thinking about as we move closer to retirement?

The first thing to consider is what you would like your retirement to be for you.

Based on this goal, you can then work out what this is likely to cost and what you are likely to need to fund. The following are some considerations when thinking about retirement:

1. It’s important to think about where you wish to retire to. Many LGBTI people would like to retire to a location that has a vibrant LGBTI Community and it is important not to feel isolated in retirement. Such locations can potentially be more expensive and it’s worth researching the cost implications in some detail. For those thinking of retiring overseas, it’s also worth checking the legal status for LGBTIs in the location you’d like to live in.

2. When would you like to retire? Without children, many LGBTIs may be able to consider retiring earlier, though starting planning later in life will make this less

achievable. In the UK, the earliest you can now take money out of your pension is at age 55, although there may be penalties in doing so. Taking advice on this would be prudent.

3. What do you want to do when you retire?

4. How much will it cost you to retire to where you want and have enough money to do what you want to do? Remember to take income tax and inflation into account.

Once you have worked this out, you can review your current situation and plan how you could be prepared for that ‘gay retirement’.

If this sounds interesting and you’d like to find out more, we’re working with Equality Wealth (the LGBT specialist) to host some free LGBT retirement seminars.

These will be run in Manchester in conjunction with Kath Wilkinson, our local LGBT retirement expert.

Click here to register for future events: here.

Meet the team:

Kath Wilkinson is proud to be launching the first specialist LGBT Financial Planning operation in Manchester and the North West in partnership with Equality Wealth. Kath will be using her experience and struggles in coming out to support others in the LGBT Community with a focus on helping LGBT people plan for their future and retirement in a safe and confidential space.

Published: 9-Nov-2017: (4619)