Almost a fifth (18%) of people aged 50 and over have said the COVID-19 pandemic has already or may impact their retirement plans, according to a new study from Co-op Insurance.

The research, based on the results of a study amongst 2,000 UK adults above the age of 50, found that 25% of those impacted have said they’ve not been able to retire due to their finances.

Another 22% of those impacted have had to use some of their retirement savings after being out of work, while 10% have retired sooner than planned due to being made redundant during the pandemic, the research found.

The Co-op study also revealed that of those who have retired, 23% said coronavirus has affected their plans to spend time with friends and family, while 20% have not been able to travel as they’d planned.

Co-op head of life insurance, Graham Ward Lush, said: “It’s perhaps no surprise that so many people over the age of 50 are disappointed with how the pandemic has affected their retirement plans, with so many (43%) envisaging more of this time being spent with friends and family.

“It’s encouraging to hear though that despite this situation being frustrating and disappointing for so many, the majority of people are now planning to make up for lost time.”

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