About to retire? How Digital Advice can take the fuss out of preparing for retirement

When you're getting ready for life after work, there's no shortage of paperwork and small print you're expected to pour over before you make the big step.

But sorting out your finances, and working out how best to use them during your retirement years, can be a daunting task for the best of us.

That's where Digital Advice comes in, for a low-cost, minimum-effort route to personalised advice on how to prepare for your retirement. And the best part is, you can do it all from the comfort of your own home!

What is Digital Advice?

Digital Advice is the new kid on the financial advice block, so you're not alone if you've never heard of it! It's a hybrid of traditional, in-person financial advice and the digital, Do-It-Yourself option. These new and largely online services can give you advice on a whole host of money matters - from retirement planning to budgeting to starting out with investing - and use high-tech computer algorithms to crunch your numbers. The result? You get personalised guidance on how to manage your finances, and you don't even need to leave the house.

But don't be fooled by the name - it's not always completely reliant on technology. In fact, many Digital Advice services have actual, real human beings on hand to help you along the way. These professional financial advisers can be involved as much or as little as you want. So whether you want to sort your money out without paying for a hefty train fare to visit an adviser's offices, or you'd prefer some face-to-face human support with a more complex query, Digital Advice offers you the best of both worlds.

And what's more, it's often significantly cheaper than the traditional advice route! Digital Advice makes for an increasingly popular route for those preparing to retire and can help take the headache out of finalising your plans for good!

Preparing to retire: How Digital Advice can help you

What makes Digital Advice such a great way to prepare for retirement? Here are a few of the reasons it's increasingly popular for pinning down your post-work plans:

• Get holistic advice and guidance from the comfort of your home

• Simple, straightforward to use and quick solutions to your questions

• No complex number-crunching - the computer does it for you!

• The option to speak to a real financial adviser if you want

• Understand all your options and which one is best suited to you

• Cheaper alternative to traditional, in-person advice

How has Digital Advice helped people like me prepare to retire?

Let's take a look at the ways Destination Retirement's Digital Advice service has helped real people to prepare for their retirement.

1. Figure out if you have enough money saved for your pension

For most people, planning for retirement doesn't sound very glamorous. But it's important to understand how much money you'll need to live the lifestyle you want and to find out whether there's anything you can do to increase your income while you can. That's where Digital Advice comes in - no need to get the calculator out, Destination Retirement will do the workings for you!

2. Work out how to make your savings last throughout your retirement

The last thing you want is to run out of money when you've still got many good years ahead of you, so planning to make sure your pension can sustain your post-work lifestyle - whether that includes frequent holidays to the Mediterranean coast or simply spending lots of quality time with your family - is really important. Destination Retirement's Digital Advice service can help you to take care of your pension now to make sure it can take care of you later.

3. Create a personalised retirement plan unique to you

Figuring out what your life might look like after retirement can be tricky, especially with the cost of living going up so much and many of us revisiting our monthly contributions. But knowledge is power, and if you know what your retirement is going to look like based on your current pension savings, you might be in a position to take action and boost them even further! Destination Retirement can produce a free, personalised retirement plan for you to help you see how far your money can go after you've stopped working - and, you don't even have to pay the initial advice fee if you decide not to go ahead with it!

4. Make your savings work harder

With inflation on the rise, you may be wondering if there's anything you can do to boost the value of your pension pot, especially if the bulk of your savings are in cash. Destination Retirement's Digital Advice service financial can find the most suitable products for your individual circumstances, help you save money by avoiding any unnecessary fees, and make sure you don't pay any more tax than you need to. And by opting for Digital Advice, there's no need to find time in your diary for face-to-face meetings, let alone spend money on fuel or train fares to meet with an adviser!

5. Put your plan into action!

Destination Retirement's Digital Advice service gives you the option to speak to a customer support representative at every stage of your retirement journey, while still benefitting from lower ongoing fees than the average for traditional financial advice, so you can ask away - whatever your query - and not have to worry about the costs you might incur from speaking to a traditional adviser.

Can Digital Advice help me finalise my retirement plans?

Destination Retirement's Digital Advice service might be just what you need if:

• You're planning to retire within a year

• You're struggling to figure out how much income you might need

• You have at least £10,000 in savings (many providers require at least £50,000)

• You're worried about the impact of high inflation on your retirement income

• You'd like to speak to a professional adviser who can give you practical guidance

• You want a free phone consultation to figure out if it's right for you first

• You're not sure how or whether to use your drawdown as inflation rises

• You want to know how to maximise your retirement income by reducing your tax liabilities

You can read our full review of Destination Retirement's Digital Advice service here.

But if you're not planning to retire just yet, there are other services on the market that can help you to save and plan for your retirement. Consider Netwealth' Digital Advice services instead.

Compare Digital Advice services

Interested in Digital Advice but not sure where to go? We're here to help. Head over to our Digital Advice compare table to see the Digital Advice services on the market, how we (and their customers) rate them, and what we think each one could help you with the most.

Not sure if Digital Advice is right for you?

Digital Advice can help you sort out many money matters, but you may be wondering if your needs are better suited to traditional, in-person financial advice.

Traditional advice may be better suited to you if...

• You’re looking for bespoke advice for inheritance tax or estate planning

• You want to meet with the same adviser face-to-face

• You have other complex pension matters to consider

If you've decided that traditional financial advice is the better option for you, check out our professional advisers to see who can help!