One in five adults (20%) who have retired in the last five years have admitted to struggling to cope with retirement and many more are heading for a “cliff edge” post-work, according to figures from a major UK-wide survey of over 2,000 people, published today.

The survey found that only half of UK workers planning to retire in the next five years were looking forward to it, (56%). Some 41% were worried about managing their money and a third said they were concerned about feeling bored (33%) and missing social connections at work (32%).

Despite the concerns, most retirees do little to plan for this major life change, the survey suggested, with over half of people who had retired in the last five years revealing they did not seek any advice or help to prepare (56%).

As a result nearly half of people are heading for a ‘cliff-edge retirement’, says the survey, with 45% of UK workers planning to retire in the next five years failing to make any arrangements to change their working hours in preparation for retirement, potentially working one day and then stopping completely the next.

The survey was carried out by YouGov with more than 1,000 people across the UK who had retired in the last five years, and more than 1,000 who are anticipating retiring within the next five years.

The survey is part of a major study of 15,000 people by the Centre for Ageing Better and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK Branch (CGF) exploring how the process of retirement affects people and what kinds of intervention and support could help people to better manage the transition.

The study also involved an evaluation of seven pilot pre-retirement workshops, delivered by different charities, which focused on building resilience and emotional well-being. It found that participants had improved confidence and perceptions of ageing - even 6 to 12 months after the workshops had ended.

The survey organisers say that currently pre-retirement provision of courses or workshops is limited. Where it does exist, it mostly focuses only on practical aspects like finance.

The Centre for Ageing Better and CGF plan to carry out research into the types of challenges people face during the process of retirement, who is most likely to face them, and what kind of support could help them. The partnership will also explore the benefits to employers of providing pre-retirement support to their staff, and will evaluate approaches already being delivered by some employers.

Some people who have retired recently said they would have liked the opportunity to steadily reduce their hours before retiring but received little advice or help.

Claire Turner, director of evidence at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “If we are to help people make the most of this important stage of their life, we need a greater understanding of what can help people and equip them to make the most of their later lives and transition from work to retirement positively.”

Andrew Barnett, chief executive of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, said: “The assumption that everyone is looking forward to retirement is untrue, as this research clearly demonstrates. That’s understandable given it can be a time of high anxiety, with little existing support for the enormous changes retiring can bring. This is worrying as research indicates a retirement prepared for and handled well could be a touchpoint to reduce future detrimental outcomes such as loneliness and social isolation.”

The YouGov survey also revealed:
• Almost 1 in 5 want greater support to manage the retirement transition
• Many people want to reduce their hours - or plan to - in preparation for retirement -
• But nearly half of people are heading for a ‘cliff-edge retirement’
• Women approaching retirement worry more than men –1 in 5 women reported worrying about feeling lonely in retirement (20%), vs just 13% of men.
• Retirement is a very positive experience for many - 62% of workers who had retired in the last five years reported feeling more relaxed, 41% said they spent more time on their hobbies or started new ones, 20% getting more involved in their communities.
• People from different backgrounds have different attitudes to retirement - 69% of recent retirees from C2DE backgrounds said they did no preparation for retirement, compared to 46% ABC1 retirees.
• Of those workers looking to retire in the next 10 years widowers look forward to retirement less - just 28% of widowed people said they were looking forward to retirement compared to 55% of married people. Some 39% of widowed people approaching retirement worry about feeling lonely in retirement vs 11% of married people.
• Public sector vs private sector workers - of those workers approaching retirement in the next 5 years the public sector are more worried about missing the social connections from work than those who work in the private sector (41% vs 26%)

The total survey sample size was 15,564 adults, of which 1,425 retired in the last five years and 1,028 plan to retire in the next 5 years. Fieldwork was undertaken between 30 August - 7 September 2017.  The survey was carried out online.