How to invest in your 60s
Investing in your 60s can help grow your retirement savings, so you’re not at risk of running out of money.
Your 60s are a good time to invest and set your finances up for retirement.
From paying down any outstanding debts to growing your retirement savings, investing can be a great decision. But what should you be investing in, and what should your financial priorities be?
Here’s our guide to everything you need to know about investing in your 60s.
Why should you invest in your 60s?
With retirement just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about getting your finances in order.
Whether you’ve already planned out your retirement funds or are still building them, making the right investments can provide you with healthier funds in a few years.
When you invest, your investments can rise in value, but this is not guaranteed.
Over time, the returns from your investments grow, boosting your funds. In practice, this means the sooner you invest, the more time you have for your investments to grow.
While the impact of compound interest can still help to grow your savings, if you are planning to invest in your 60s, you should be considering lower-risk investments,
Deciding your financial priorities
Investing is one of many options you could pursue in your 60s and can help you ensure your finances are in good health, but it is far from the only way to make your financial future a reality.
1. Clear outstanding debt
Retirement is an exciting new chapter in your life. Unfortunately, with the burden of debt on your shoulders, your dream retirement lifestyle could be out of reach.
Paying off any outstanding debts is vital. Starting with any high-interest loans or debts, consider paying down as many as possible so you have more money for your retirement funds.
2. Achieve your financial goals
If you have financial goals like paying off a mortgage, now is a good time to prioritize them.
Whatever your plans are for retirement, your retirement funds may not match your income as a working individual. This could mean that any financial goals you haven’t achieved may be harder to achieve once you retire.
3. Top up your retirement accounts
Finally, one of the most important things you can do is to pay more into your retirement.
Any shortfall in your retirement income can impact your planning and may mean you can’t fully retire when you want to.
If you are unhappy with how much you have in your savings, consider upping these contributions.
What should you invest in?
If you’re finding that you don’t quite have the savings you hoped for, you may be tempted to invest your money into slightly riskier investments.
However, this is more likely to jeopardize your hard-earned savings if you’re not planning to invest in the long term.
If you are looking to make investments, consider lower-risk options, such as:
1. Bonds
As you get older, it’s important to ensure you have a steady income. Bonds are among the safest investments you can make, and though they won’t create significant returns, they will return your principal investment with some interest.
There are many different types of bonds, but if you choose to buy fixed-rate bonds, you’ll be locking your cash away until the bond matures, so make sure you still have some funds at your disposal.
2. Funds
Investing some money into a fund could be an easy way of adding passive income to your portfolio.
Although you’ll pay to invest in a fund, having it track specific markets means you can benefit from this without high risk.
Consider an investment platform
If you’re looking to invest, there are various online platforms, including those which allow investments with a small deposit, while others offer access to thousands of bonds and shares, as well as the ability to invest overseas.
Investing before retirement
Investing as you approach retirement can be tricky.
While sometimes the best thing you can do with your money is pay down outstanding debts, top up your pensions or invest in fixed-rate bonds, there are many ways to invest your money.
To get advice based on your personal circumstances, speak to a dedicated financial advisor. Unbiased works with regulated financial advisors; we can match you with one in your local area. Just fill in a few details, and someone will be in touch when we have a match.
Senior Content Writer
Lisa-Marie Voneshen is a Senior Content Writer at Unbiased. She is an award-winning journalist with nearly a decade of experience writing and editing content across various areas, including personal finance and investing.