Two thirds of Brits not confident about retirement plans

Nearly two thirds (64%) of Brits do not feel confident about their retirement, while 36% don’t feel confident about planning for retirement, research from Penfold has revealed.

The survey of 2,000 British workers also found that over half (55%) don’t know how much money they have in their pension pot.

In addition to this, it showed that those closer to retirement are less pension-aware than their younger counterparts, as 57% of 55 to 64-year-olds said that they don’t know how much money is in their pension, compared to 51% of 25 to 34-year-olds.

Northern Ireland was found to be the most pension-savvy region of the UK, however, with 20% of respondents having checked their pension within the last month, double the national average of 10%.

The research also raised concerns around the amount that savers expected to need in retirement, as almost half of respondents (45%) said they thought they would need up to £200,000, while 3% of those believed they could manage on just £1,000 to £10,000.

Yet estimates from Penfold suggested that someone who earns £35,000 per year before tax, should look to generate an income of £23,333, two-thirds of their working salary, per year during a 20-year retirement, which would require a £466,600 pension pot.

Penfold co-founder, Pete Hykin, highlighted the data as “incredibly worrying but sadly, not surprising given how the pensions industry has historically failed to engage savers with the right way to save towards a comfortable retirement”.

“With so many obstacles - jargon-heavy paper correspondence, terrible customer service and a lack of investment options that align with your values, it can take a lot of headspace to deal with on top of an already busy life,” he stated.


This article first appeared on our sister title, Pensions Age.

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


The later life lending landscape
Michael Griffiths speaks to Darren Deacon and Stuart Heavens from Family Building Society about the current state of play in the later life lending market

Mortgage Insider Podcast

FREE E-NEWS SIGN UP

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive breaking news and other industry announcements by email.

  Please tick here to confirm you are happy to receive third party promotions from carefully selected partners.