The prospect of retirement must seem like an attractive one for those trapped in the rat race of commutes and workloads. For those in the autumn of their lives it’s a chance to put their feet up for a while, maybe potter about in the garden and – at last! – devote some time to fixing the shed.
Affordability
But increasingly the question is will you be able to afford to do so? For some the prospect of endlessly spinning around on the hamster wheel of employment is becoming more realistic, as some 71% of us think it’s harder to retire comfortably in the UK today than ever before, according to new research.
A survey of 2000 users of investment comparison site, Investing Reviews, found that 69% of respondents think the current UK retirement age of 66 should be brought down.
But this runs smack bang into another of the survey’s findings about people’s pensions, with 62% of respondents saying they believe that their pension simply is not enough for them to retire comfortably and will need further investments together with their pension.
Significantly, more than half of those surveyed said they could not make as many pension contributions as they would like. The sentiment adds to the picture of financial anxiety currently besetting many people.
The importance of pension contributions to employees’ remuneration packages was underlined by the survey finding over a third of respondents would consider changing their work to a completely different sector if it meant they would get more generous employer pension contributions.
Dreams of the good life
Perhaps it is the lure of guaranteed sunshine on the Med that tempts Britons tired of endless rain or perhaps it’s just a desire to enjoy something a bit different in their senior years but a good number want to live elsewhere in later life. Some 42% of respondents said they would prefer to leave the UK and live abroad for their retirement.
But a decent retirement depends on having a decent pension pot. In past surveys, Investing Reviews has found that those working in ‘public administration and defence enjoy the highest percentage of employers contributing 20% or more to employees’ pension whilst employers in the ‘wholesale and retail trade have the lowest percentage of employer contributions of 20% or more at only 1.3%.
But pensions are often seen as more of a headache than a benefit, full of complexity and jargon that many cannot penetrate. Hence it is unsurprising that the survey revealed that over a third (34.93%) of respondents do not know exactly how much money is in their pension.
Simon Jones, chief executive officer of Investing Reviews, said: “There are endless debates to be had regarding the UK retirement age and the state of pensions, especially considering the recent rise in retirement age in France and the backlash that received. These responses offer a fascinating insight into the attitudes that the British public hold towards pensions and retirement ages, particularly the sentiment that it is now harder to retire comfortably than ever before. It will be interesting to see if factors such as the backlash in France to the rise in the retirement age and the increasing difficulty of the cost-of-living crisis have any effect on these sentiments in the future.”
