Once the Easter holidays are over this marks the end of the year’s ski season meaning ski and snowboard schools will begin to wind down. The British contingent of ski instructors and stagiaires, high altitude guides and off-piste experts will be planning to leave the slopes in readiness for the summer.

 

Winter work means non-stop physical activity and no doubt any kind of financial plan is put on the back burner until the end of the season? Another problem for ski pros is getting access to financial advice whilst also doing the day job on the piste! Clearly this is one area you need to give some time to when you plan to head home.

Financial planning is vital if you are hoping to make the best of your hard earned winter takings and in particular if these account for a large proportion of your annual earnings. Although retirement plans may not feature in your extravert lifestyle you should start to prioritise this as part of any financial plan. After all retirement could come sooner than you think for those who have spent a lifetime on skis or snowboard.

• Choose a low cost pension or SIPP. Why pay high charges for the same product or service? Avoid expensive Wealth Manager propositions that are likely to be poor value compared with an online low initial charge option.
• Aim to contribute as much as you can afford, though you can start as low as ?50 monthly. Making regular payments will keep your retirement plan on track even when you return to the slopes.
• Contributions to pensions are given an extra boost as the Government automatically adds tax relief to your payments.
• The sooner you start the better! The earliest contributions are potentially the most valuable as they have time to benefit from long term growth.
• State pension provides only a basic income in retirement. If you plan to have the holiday of a lifetime skiing in retirement you need to start seriously saving now!