A quarter of Brits think they’ll die before they see their pension, survey reveals
Britain’s biggest pensions fears have been revealed by a nationwide survey, surfacing major concerns around their financial future.
The data, which was collected on behalf of Manchester company Expert Pension Claims (2019), revealed a number of alarming points, not just around fears but about doubts in the system as a whole.
Figures show, for example, that 1 in 4 British people fear they will die before they can draw their pension. Over 25% of them admitted to being worried that they simply won’t live to see their hard earned cash released as a pension.
In amongst the data, it also became apparent that over a third of people in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have “no idea” how to access their pension pots, suggesting a nationwide lack of knowledge and lack of planning for the future.
National figures also revealed that 1 in 5 people (UK) are not “bothering” with their pensions because they don’t see that there is “any point.”
On a regional level, Northern Ireland turned out to be the highest in the UK on a number of points. For example, over HALF of Northern Ireland believe they won’t have enough money to last through retirement (55.60%) – which is the highest from all UK regions. In addition, over a third believe they’ll die before they can draw their pension, also topping any other part of the United Kingdom.
Pensions Expert and Independent Financial Adviser (IFA), Caroline Anstee, said there’s an overall feeling of worry when it came to pensions and the future.
She said: “If more financial education was available then everybody would understand more and therefore not worry as much.
“Unfortunately, most people do not address the future, so when they get to making decisions about retirement, they have left it too long.
“So advice is vital and it’s never too early to understand and think about the needs beyond working life.
“By going through a cash flow forecast of needs now, future plans can be made.
“The media does not help as they state things like if you don’t have £1m in a pension, you will be poor in retirement.
“Everyone’s situation is different, and not everybody is reliant on pensions alone, so it is important to assess the whole situation and take a holistic view then plans can be made, it just depends on what the needs are in retirement and what lifestyle is required.
“The main thing that has affected women is the increase in the state pension age and that needs extra planning, as most thought they would receive their pension at age 60.”
She added: “The main thing is that people review their pensions as costs eat into any return and then see where they are and plan.
“Financial education should be given to all and then they would understand how important planning ahead is.”
- The survey was carried out on behalf of Expert Pension Claims, UK specialists in SIPP claims, pension mis-selling, and investment mis-selling. Find out more here.
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