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August 2008

Retirees Expect Less Than £15k per Year - Study

More than four in ten retirees expect to receive an income of less than £15,000 a year when they stop working, a survey suggests.

Research conducted on behalf of Aegon found 44% expect under £15,000 income per annum while only 14% expect their pension savings alone to produce more than £15,000 a year.

Aegon also says only one in three intends to stop working in retirement but points out it is out of choice rather than necessity.

In addition, 87% of those questioned want some form of guaranteed income in retirement while 22% fear running out of money after they finish working.

Aegon says the results of the research, in which more than 2,100 people were surveyed, highlight the dawn of the age of the grandad-olescents, retirees that want to continue to work.

More than six in ten expect to either carry on working in some capacity after they reach retirement age or pursue further education or charity work, the survey found.

More than one in ten (11%) said ‘love of the job’ made them want to stay in the work force while 14% argued that they were simply too young to retire. 12% said they would like to try out a completely different career in their retirement.

Around 30% of retirees are relying on their pension alone, with no other savings or investments, the survey suggests, but 86% say they would at least “get by” financially if they were to stop working at retirement age with only 14% saying they would struggle to cope financially.

Rachel Vahey, head of pensions development, says: “Retirement isn’t the abrupt cliff edge it once was and, for many of today’s ‘baby boomers’, retirement age marks a new and exciting chapter of their lives.

“But if you want to make adventurous life choices and have a more flexible approach to retirement you have to know what income you’re on track to receive and plan carefully.

“Today’s retirees have to deal with the fact that people are living longer and stockmarkets are more volatile.

“Running out of money is a big fear factor and many people want the security of a guaranteed income. The good news is there are more products and solutions available now to complement people’s changing lifestyles. So making the right choices is more important than ever.”

Research also found UK citizens are taking less interest in their investments, despite increased market volatility, as just 22% have reviewed their pension asset allocation in the past twelve months, compared with 28% the previous year.

Of the 46% of people who have reviewed their pension plans, 41% could not remember or did not know whether they had chosen the default investment option.

Barings research also found 40% of people had simply chosen the default option and only 19% claim to have chosen the fund allocation themselves.

While 55% of people were clear on the asset allocation of the default option, 22% felt the explanation was not good, while a further 11% felt it was not explained at all, according to Barings.

Young people in particular are less likely to review their pension portfolios. Approximately 56% of 18-24 year olds have never reviewed their pension plans, compared with 25% of those in the 55-64 age group.