Over one million workers in the UK (6%) believe that they will never retire, according to a new study carried out by Canada Life.

The findings from the retirement specialist suggested that while 17.1 million working adults (44%) think they will work beyond their state pension age, this figure is actually down by 2.7 million people (51%) in 2020.

According to the research, which was based on a study among 2,000 people, the biggest concern that UK adults have when thinking about working beyond the state pension age is being unable to enjoy their older age (34%).

Canada Life suggested that around a third (33%) are worried their health will deteriorate because they need to keep working, while over a quarter (27%) either need or want to work, but are worried their health will make it difficult to do so.

Furthermore, 23% of respondents indicated that they wish to continue working because they enjoy the routine, while one in five (21%) say they enjoy their job and want to continue working.

Of those people expecting to work beyond their state pension age, 43% think their pension will not be enough to retire fully. Another 22% said they will continue to work as they are unsure how long their retirement savings will last, while the research found that 10% think they are prepared but say their current lifestyle means it’s too expensive for them to retire.

Canada Life technical director, Andrew Tully, commented on the findings: “Despite over a million people thinking they will never retire, there is a considerable drop in the number of people thinking they will work beyond their state pension age. Understandably the pandemic has had a drastic impact on this, with many people reevaluating how they want to live and what they want to do in later life.

“Digging beneath the surface, there are a variety of reasons for working beyond state pension age, or not retiring at all. For some people the social side of work would be missed, but for others, financial considerations are a key driver.

“As an industry, we need to find ways of encouraging better engagement in long-term financial planning as a way to ensure that people are confident that they are building sufficient savings for retirement.”

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