I read this little nugget, in an article in one of the technical papers namely Financial Reporter. Good news I thought, but the sting in the tail is that 10% of those polled don’t have any pension savings, just over a third have given no thought to how much they might need in retirement and a quarter don’t know how much money they have set aside.
And that’s where we come in. I was visiting a client last week who 6 years ago fitted that profile exactly. Today, his pension fund stands at over £55,000. As he said to me last week, if it hadn’t been for you, Arthur, I would still have had nothing for my retirement.
The full article in the paper read as follows:
The Retirement Confidence Survey, conducted by Aegon to mark the start of Pension Awareness Week, reveals that people in the UK are feeling slightly more confident about their ability to retire comfortably, than they did two years ago.
Latest figures show just over half now feel confident about their ability to retire comfortably, compared to just under a half in 2017.
However, while retirement confidence appears to be improving, many remain in the dark when it comes to their pension savings and arrangements for funding their retirement.
One in ten (10%) of those polled admit that they don’t have any pension savings.
36% have never estimated their income needs for retirement, putting themselves at significant risk of being unable to maintain their existing lifestyle. While it’s encouraging that this has reduced since 2017 from 43% to 36%, the pace of change needs to accelerate to make a real difference.
A quarter (25%) of those with pension savings said that they don’t know how much they hold in pensions. This is highest among those aged 35 – 54 (30%). And while only 19% of 55-64 year olds don’t know how much they have in pensions at the moment, it’s still significant considering how close they are to retirement.
Steven Cameron, Pensions Director at Aegon, comments:
“It’s encouraging to see an indication of growing confidence over the last two years when it comes to being able to retire comfortably.
“Pensions have frequently hit the news headlines in the last few years. While at times this has been for less good reasons, there have been lots of positive stories such as the success of automatic enrolment and the new retirement flexibilities under pension freedoms which have been built on by initiatives such as the Pensions Awareness campaign from Pension Geeks. All of this has contributed to raising the profile of retirement planning, leading to people taking more interest and action, improving the confidence people have when it comes to being able to retire comfortably.
“But we must remain realistic. Overconfidence carries risks and people mustn’t be lulled into a false sense of security. While auto-enrolment means millions of employees are saving more for retirement, that doesn’t mean they’re on target for the retirement they aspire to or to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living. Furthermore, the growing population of self-employed are excluded from auto-enrolment and can’t rely on an employer to support their retirement funding. Realistically, there’s a lot more required to make sure you’ve saved enough for the retirement you would like.
“It’s also worrying that a significant minority of people don’t know how much they have in their pension. Those in the 30 to 54 age band are in the best position to take action now to make a big difference to their retirement income. Whatever your age or circumstances, finding out more about your pension funds and prospects can only be a good thing.”
Don’t forget that Client I met last week. Maybe I can do the same for you. If you would like a chat, give me a ring. My number is 0141-956 5525.
Have a great week.