A newly released survey conducted by investment comparison site Investing Reviews has painted a concerning picture of the UK’s sentiment regarding pensions and retirement. With over 2,000 respondents sharing their views, the survey provides an alarming insight into the uncertainties and fears surrounding retirement in the UK.
The survey reveals that 70% of respondents believe it’s harder to retire comfortably in the UK today than ever before, and 78% think the UK retirement age, currently set at 66, should be lowered. Moreover, 42% would prefer to leave the UK and live abroad for their retirement, and one third believe they will not be able to retire comfortably in the current economic climate.
These findings resonate with recent tensions in France over the raising of the retirement age from 62 to 64. A significant 68.71% of UK respondents agree with lowering the retirement age, coinciding with 71.16% believing that it’s now more difficult to retire in the UK than in the past.
Further worries come from the 62.60% of respondents who expressed that their pension alone is insufficient to secure a comfortable retirement. Many believe they will need additional investments, possibly connected to the fact that over half (55.82%) feel unable to make as many pension contributions as they’d like to.
Concerning employer contributions, over a third (42.66%) of participants would even consider working in an entirely different sector if it meant receiving greater contributions towards their pensions. This is an intriguing statistic, especially considering the disparities in employer contributions across different sectors.
Adding to the uncertainty, over a third (34.93%) of those surveyed revealed they do not know exactly how much money is in their pension. Furthermore, the sentiment around the difficulty of retiring comfortably in the UK and the frustration at not being able to contribute as much to their pensions as they’d like is echoed in the 42.66% of respondents who would choose to retire outside of the UK if possible.
Commenting on the survey’s findings, Simon Jones, CEO of Investing Reviews, said: “These responses offer a fascinating insight into the attitudes that the British public hold towards pensions and retirement ages, particularly the sentiment that it is now harder to retire comfortably than ever before.
“It will be interesting to see if factors such as the backlash in France to the rise in the retirement age and the increasing difficulty of the cost-of-living crisis have any effect on these sentiments in the future.”
