Half over 55s clueless about retirement planning
Almost half (46%) of over 55s have no idea how much money they need in order to retire comfortably, according to new research.
This compared to over a third (38%) of the consumers surveyed in all age groups who had no idea how much they needed to retire, according to the new report from digital pension provider Penfold.
Younger savers seemed confident that they would not have to save much for retirement with 28% saying they could comfortably retire with £50,000 in their pension pot.
Over a third (39%) of people are concerned about not having enough money to live comfortably during their old age.
The research also revealed that many UK savers are struggling to understand how much money they have in their pension pots.
Over half (54%) of those surveyed had three or more pensions, with 58% admitting to having no idea how much was in their pension pot.
Two-thirds (65%) were feeling anxious, confused, overwhelmed or stressed at the prospect of locating and accessing their pension pots as they near retirement age.
Only 24% of over 55’s were feeling confident about locating and accessing their pension.
Pete Hykin, co-founder of Penfold, said: “Our research has shown that people are still feeling in the dark about their retirement. This is probably a legacy of the days when you had to make a phone call or wait weeks for a letter to find out anything about your pension. When your information is available via your phone, accessible in a few taps as it is with the new generation of digital pension providers, there’s really no reason why pensions should be overwhelming or confusing.
“With there no longer being ‘a job for life’ and the introduction of the ‘auto enrolment scheme’ many people now have multiple pension pots. This can make it tricky to keep track of where all your pensions are and how much is in each account.”
Penforld surveyed 2,000 UK pension savers.