A survey by peer-to-peer lending platform Lending Works of 1,500 non-retired adults in the UK found that at least one in five of those who have yet to retire do not have a healthy outlook on the future and believe that they will never be financially secure enough to retire.
34% of non-retired British adults put £0 towards retirement: that & more astonishing findings in our new infographic https://t.co/IugmoV4C73
— Lending Works (@LendingWorks) 22 January 2017
This view is the highest in the 34-44 year old category, with 24 percent of people seeing themselves as being financially secure enough to retire.
The retirement outlook is also the bleakest in the West Midlands region of the UK, where 27 percent feel comfortable with retirement, compared to 19 percent in London. This difference could be down to the fact that there is higher unemployment rates in the West Midlands compared to those in London.
So what's the reason behind why people feel they will not be able to retire comfortably?
The survey states that the main cause is that people simply cannot afford to not continue working. With mortgages, bills to pay and little interest being made on savings, plus rising costs, saving for a blissful retirement seems like a distant dream.
34 percent of non-retired adults have not saved anything towards their retirement and out of women and men, females are worse, with 41 percent of women not saving towards their retirement, compared to 26 percent of men.
Another interesting find the survey exposes is the link between social media and those who do save for a rainy day.
According to the poll, over 50 percent of respondents who use LinkedIn, were found to contribute 3 percent of their salary or more to their pension each month. One of the reasons behind this could be that the site is used by professionals, job seekers and businesses, therefore its users have more of a natural interest to invest in a pension.
At least 32 percent of those who use Facebook and Twitter were also found to contribute to their pension each month; however, this number drops to 29 percent for Google+ users.
So, When to Retire?
Teenagers and those in their twenties can expect to work to the age of 70, at least as the state pension age rises to cope with an ageing population.
The UK state pension age is already rising, but the ages are yet to be set in stone.
Some proposed changes over the next few decades are waiting approval and beyond that, the age will be linked to an average anticipated lifespan. A review of UK pensions will take place in May 2017 and will outline recommendations on what the new retirement age should be.
Birmingham — Dealing with pensions in a restructuring environment 15March @PwC_UK #PanelSession #Event #Networking https://t.co/jaQFQIeIAS pic.twitter.com/niu3PR3XGt
— TMA UK (@UK_TMA) 24 January 2017
"It is clear from this research that many Brits are quite pessimistic when it comes to the future," Nicholas Harding, CEO and co-founder of Lending Works said.
"It is also particularly concerning to see how many people aren't planning adequately for their retirement, although it is perhaps somewhat understandable given the slow economic recovery and poor returns on savings currently available. But, with a growing number of alternatives to the established avenues for saving, there are still many ways in which consumers can get on top of things, and thus leave themselves in good shape by the time they reach traditional retirement age," Harding said.
Retirement was once known as something all could look forward to, especially when working for most of one's adult life. However, with the retirement rising, having a healthy pot of money at the end of a working life seems a little too distant and unattainable in the current British economic climate.
