A generation of retirees show a “worrying” lack of preparation for life after work.
The Great Retirement Study, carried out by consultancy the Wisdom Council, interviewed 2,000 people aged 55–75 and found that 30% feel not at all or not very confident that they will have a comfortable lifestyle in retirement. Just 18% feel very or extremely confident. A third expect the state pension to contribute most to their retirement and half will rely on cash to some extent.
However, retirees have “unrealistic expectations” for everyday income and expenditure, the consultancy said. Their average expectation of expenditure five years into retirement was 92% of pre-retirement levels, while the average expectation for income over the same period was 78% of pre-retirement levels. And few can expect to achieve this level of income, the study says – even those with the best defined benefit pensions.
Half of those surveyed said they would be prepared to pay for a one-off professional review of their finances to help with retirement planning. The average amount that people were prepared to pay was £213 – far below the £3,000 average cost of an adviser offering at-retirement advice on a £250,000 pension pot.
Independent financial advisers were the most trusted source of financial advice, with more than 26% choosing them over other financial services institutions, their workplace or online information sources.
