Pensioners in London have only £6 left over on average after their monthly household spending, according to new research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In comparison, north-eastern pensioners have an average of £109 per household remaining at the end of the month.

Hargreaves Lansdown has analysed the ONS data and found that retirees living in London, Yorkshire and the Humber, the South East and the South West are the worst off once they complete their monthly spending. Pensioners in the North East, Northern Ireland, West Midlands and East Midlands have the most money left at the end of the month.

The study also found that southerners need to save more per month over their lifetime to ensure they receive the same incomes as pensioners in their region.

On average, households in the South East need to save £411 per month compared to just £207 per month for households in Wales.

The regions that need to save the most were in England: the South East, East and South West, while Wales, Northern Ireland and North East England need to save the least.

Retirees in Scotland had an average pension wealth of £140,400, the highest in the UK, while those in the East Midlands had the lowest: an average of £87,400. Households in the South East, South West and Wales made up the top four and retirees in the North East, Yorkshire and Humber and the West Midlands made up the bottom four.

Pensioners in the South were also most likely to expect to continue working past the age of 70 (19 per cent in the South West and 17 per cent in London), although that figure falls to a low of 10 per cent in the North East and Scotland.

Hargreaves Lansdown senior analyst, Nathan Long commented: “Whether it’s people down South who are planning on working for longer, pensioners in the North East who have the most income left over each week, or the Scots who have the largest pension savings squirrelled away, the retirement readiness of the UK differs tremendously by region.

"Whilst it might be tempting to ensure you are keeping up with the Joneses when you come to retirement, making a personal retirement to-do list is the best way to ensure you can leave work when and how you want to.”

Share Story: