A survey has highlighted the UK’s reluctance to save for retirement.
One of the major clearing banks recently undertook a retirement planning survey across 15 countries in which it operates. Among its findings for the UK were:
- One third of people were not making any preparation for retirement, while a virtually identical proportion thought they were not doing enough.
- The average expected time spent in retirement was 19 years, which was 12 years longer than the average time retirement savings were expected to last.
- In terms of retirement income, the average amount thought appropriate was 73% of pre-retirement income.
- Just 38% of people are regular savers, leaving the UK only above Egypt in terms of thrift.
- The UK came top in one unfortunate category: prioritising saving for a holiday over saving for retirement. Given the choice of only one savings goal for the year, 58% of the UK respondents chose a holiday, while 32% opted for retirement.
One interesting point the survey threw up was that, for those on average incomes, there was a strong relationship between financial planning and greater saving. People who had carried out some type of financial planning had at least four times the retirement savings of those who had failed to plan. Where professional advice is used, savings were two and a half times more than those of people who have not taken expert advice.
8th March 2013
