Teach Primary Issue 19.6

Saving for your future is paramount Why might primary school teachers wish to save? There are many reasons why a primary school teacher, and indeed anyone, would benefit from setting savings goals. It may be that they wish to help their children onto the property ladder in the future, or it might be potential support for them to go through university. Or they may have other types of personal goals where parents may want to support. How can financial planning help with this? A specialist financial adviser can help you to project future costs, calculate an approximate rate of inflation and then work backwards to draw some assumptions about how much per month you would need to put away into some type of savings vehicle and allow it to grow until such a time that you needed to draw on it for support in future projects. It’s worth noting here however, that the first port of call would always be the recommendation to build an emergency fund – approximately six months’ worth of expenditure, kept somewhere easily accessible for an emergency or a rainy day. Is it better to start sooner rather than later? When it comes to saving towards future goals, the sooner you start, the better. If it is left too late, it can be quite challenging to save a significant sum of money over a shorter period of time. Going back to the previous example of providing financial support for children going to university – if your child is age 15 ABOUT GLEN: Glen Roberts is regional manager at Wesleyan Financial Services. Contact: wesleyan.co.uk/ finances-teach- primary What’s the difference? + Our specialist financial advisers are experts on the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. + A good financial adviser will assess your individual circumstances as a whole. + We offer a wide range of services to support teachers with comprehensive financial planning. 30 SECOND BRIEFING Wesleyan’s team of specialist financial advisers offers holistic financial planning for teachers and senior education leaders across the UK. From the start of your teaching career to planning for retirement, we can support you every step of the way, providing all the info you need. Q&A Glen Roberts, regional manager at Wesleyan, on how having good savings habits and working towards goals can give you the retirement you deserve and about to do their GCSEs, there is not much time to start saving and allow that money to grow. If, however, you start putting money aside earlier, by the time your child does reach the age of 15, you’re much more likely to already have a sizeable pot of money. And of course, the investment returns on this larger pot are likely to be significantly higher than the amount in your starting pot. This is due to effects of compound growth. How can specialist support help? A good adviser should encourage you to consider whether or not you are being deliberate regarding where you’re spending your money, and whether you are planning ahead and saving for the future.The most suitable savings vehicle will depend on your individual circumstances. This is where the input of a specialist financial adviser can be invaluable, as they understand the career progression of a primary school teacher, are experts on the Teachers’ Pension Scheme(TPS) and are able to assess your situation as a whole to ultimately ensure that you are informed to make the best possible decisions for your future. Bear in mind that the value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. If you would like support or guidance on understanding your financial position, speak to a specialist financial adviser at Wesleyan Financial Services for a financial review by visiting wesleyan.co.uk/teachers www.teachwire.net | 13 PARTNER CONT ENT