Saving for retirement: How Digital Advice can be your helping hand

How can you save for the retirement you want without breaking the bank?

It's a big question, and when purse strings get tight, saving for your ideal retirement often has to take a backseat to get through the here-and-now.

But if you're looking for low-cost, low-effort help to boost your pension pot and shape a retirement you can enjoy, not just afford, then Digital Advice could be just the thing you need.

What is Digital Advice?

You're not alone if you've never heard of Digital Advice! It's essentially 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 wide range 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 step-by-step guidance on how to manage your finances in a matter of minutes!

But don't be fooled by the name - it's not always completely AI-driven. 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 having to get out of bed and speak to another human, or you're looking for some face-to-face human support with a more complicated query, Digital Advice offers you the best of both worlds.

And what's more, it's often significantly cheaper than the traditional advice route! It makes for an increasingly popular method of getting advice on boosting your pension and could help you get on track for the retirement you've been dreaming of.

Digital Advice for retirement saving: What are the advantages?

So what makes Digital Advice a great way to get help with retirement saving? Here are a few of the reasons it's an increasingly popular option:

• Leaves the hard work to the experts so you can get on with your life

• Find out if you're saving enough - and what to do if you aren't

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

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

• Option to automatically rebalance your investments in line with your risk appetite

• Cheaper alternative to traditional, in-person advice

How has Digital Advice helped people like me with retirement saving?

Let's take a look at how Digital Advice has helped real people to save up for their retirement.

Clare felt that she may have overlooked her retirement planning. But after she received a promotion at work, she decided to review her finances. Was she on track for the retirement she wanted, or did she need to boost her contributions?

Though she had some pension savings, Clare wasn't sure if:

• These were enough to fund a comfortable retirement

• She could make her cash savings, currently earning very little interest, work a bit harder

However, Clare was also aware that:

• As a high earner, her pension allowances could become an issue

• The total amount you can invest into your pension is £40,000 each year

• People earning very high incomes above £200,000 a year may see their annual allowance reduce to as little as £4,000 (a tapered annual allowance)

As she was already a Vanguard customer, Clare was comfortable with investing. But with her busy work schedule and family life, she wanted a little expert reassurance to give her the peace of mind that she was saving enough money for the retirement she wanted.

That's when Clare turned to Digital Advice to sort her retirement savings out. She learned that she was not on track to meet her retirement goal, so they took a step back and assessed her finances as a whole.

Clare wanted to understand whether she needed to retire later, reduce her targeted income, or save more - or a combination of all three. With the help of a qualified Vanguard financial adviser, they created a plan to help her get back on track, decide how much she could practically afford to set aside, and how this would impact her retirement.

She was able to manage her finances in her own time and in her own way, with a helping hand from a professional adviser, leaving Clare with the comfort that her pension was on track. And with her saving plan sorted, she was able to focus on refining her retirement goals, rather than worrying about whether she could afford them in the first place.

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!