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It's time to start planning for a recovery

Britain is now officially in recession. Gross domestic product figures released this morning show that the economy has shrunk for two successive quarters – the technical definition of a recession.
In the first three months of the year GDP fell by 2.2pc, followed by a whopping 20pc contraction in the second quarter. But, while on the surface things look very bleak, those numbers don’t tell the whole story.
Most of the economic damage was wreaked in April and May, while the country was still deep in lockdown. By the end of June we were already back in positive territory and a third of the damage has already been recovered. These figures don’t even take into account Super Saturday, on July 4, when punters stampeded back to pubs and hairdressers. Although this may be the deepest recession on record, it could also be the shortest.
For workers who have already been laid off and small businesses that have already gone under, that will provide little comfort. Job losses have been indiscriminate, but employers looking to rehire as the economy picks back up may not be.
As reported by Telegraph Money this weekend, a quarter of a million over-50s may never work again after being made redundant during coronavirus. That is according to a new report by the Centre for Ageing Better, a charity, which found that job schemes are skewed in favour of younger workers.
Older people who are laid off and cannot find a new job will have to raid their savings, pensions or release value from their home instead. This will eat up funds quickly, particularly when stock markets are low. There are ways to make your money last. Read our guide on how to retire in a recession without running out of money here.
Alternatively, you could look to lock your money into funds that protect you when stock markets are falling. Our investment reporter Sam Benstead reveals his five favourites in this article. How to manage your investments in a recession will depend on how long it lasts – here we take a look at what the experts are predicting.
In the 2008 recession, many savers and investors were caught out as large financial institutions collapsed. Find out how safe your money is should your bank or pension provider fail here. What about your upcoming property purchase? Telegraph reporter Adam Williams has the latest on what the GDP figures mean for house prices.
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Here's what our readers said

In our comments section, Martin Swinburne said of We're in a recession, so why are home buyers so optimistic and house prices rising?: "It all points to inflation starting. Government spending is up 48pc and tax receipts down 43pc in the first two months of the lockdown, according to the OBR. The Bank of England is printing money to cover the gap. You cannot print that much money and not get inflation. There are some deflationary pressures such as the 730,000 lost jobs. But so far I don't see any evidence of that materialising in the real economy as deflation. I'm only seeing inflation. People are out spending their lovely free money."
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