Having looked at how many positives you might have in the future, we now need to look at the negatives in the same way. Let’s start with any regular spending.

If you have a mortgage at the moment, the chances are it takes up a significant chunk of your monthly income, but one day you should have finished paying it off. Is this likely to happen before you start to take your pension?

By the time you take your pension you may have paid off all your ‘plastic debt’, but if you think you will still owe money you can say how much you will be paying each month.

Will you still have any loans – perhaps to pay for a car, home improvements or a big event, such as a wedding? You might have chosen to save up for these or you might have chosen to take out a loan to pay for them. If you think you’ll still be paying off any loans after you have retired, just write down how much you will be paying each month.

© BOC Pension Services and AHC Ltd 2012.