The world is changing at an accelerating pace. Technology is leading us down new paths, the balance of economic power between countries is shifting, there is increased political and social unrest and higher volatility in investment markets. Retirees are at the mercy of these political, social and economic pressures and I would argue are more at risk than those who are still working and therefore able to continue building their wealth.

A solid financial foundation provides a level of certainty and therefore resilience in a changing environment. Preparing for retirement is like preparing to weather a storm. Safety and security are paramount and thinking ahead allows you to take steps to reduce risk.

There are six key strategies for building a solid financial foundation for retirement.

The strongest position to be in is to own a debt free home at retirement. However, having most of your wealth tied up in your home can also weaken your position as you need cash to top up your pension. Owning a home gives certainty over your housing costs, an opportunity to increase your wealth as property prices rise, and the ability to release some of that wealth later in retirement through home equity release schemes, like Lifetime Home, or downsizing.

Unfortunately, an increasing percentage of retirees are not homeowners and the challenge for them is to secure an affordable place to live within the limited options that are available. Security of housing is a key determinant of financial security in retirement.

Money can only be spent once and it’s better to spend it on things that are really important to you than to fritter it away. Interestingly, people who have spent most of their working life on a modest income are often much better at budgeting than people who have had high incomes but an ‘easy come, easy go’ attitude to life.

Transitioning from a high income to a low income is much easier if you have learned the art of sticking to a budget. As you get closer to retirement it’s a good idea to practice living on a sum that’s close to what your retirement budget will be. Not only does this teach you how to live on less, it also helps you save more while you’re still working.

Some people arrive at retirement with overly optimistic goals which are far beyond their budget, while others take an overly cautious approach that can lead them to underspend in retirement. The right balance is somewhere in between these extremes. Being too optimistic runs the risk of running out of money too quickly, while being too cautious can mean lost opportunities for enjoying retirement.

A useful approach is to set goals in blocks of 5 to 10 years with a budget for each block of time. Not all retirement goals have a monetary value. Happiness and enjoyment can come from social activities and spending time with family. It’s also good to have goals around healthy living. Exercise and healthy eating don’t need to cost a lot.

Once you’re retired you’ll need to know how to invest your money for around 30 years in a way that keeps you ahead of inflation and tax and ensures that you have money available when you need it. It’s a good idea to work with a financial adviser; however, you should at the very least have sufficient investment knowledge to be able to understand the advice you receive. You should have a good handle on investment risk and how it relates to returns across all the different investment classes as well as understanding how income is generated from investment portfolios.