Globetrotting grannies – Travel-hungry Britons need to prepare early for their retirement dreams

• Top desire for retirement is to take regular holidays, but almost half of UK adults are not confident they will be able to afford their retirement dreams
• No Silver Lining for Golden Years: only a quarter (25%) of UK adults claim to understand the new pension rules
• Over one in four (43%) of the over 55s remain confident of being able to afford to spend their retirement as they’d like

unbiased.co.uk, the UK’s most comprehensive ‘find an adviser’ search, reveals that UK adults are dreaming of a retirement spent globetrotting, but many aren’t confident that they are properly preparing to live that dream.

Taking regular holidays, going travelling, and taking a cruise all feature in the top four dreams for retirement, but when asked how they feel about having enough money in retirement to take these, only 16% of UK adults said they were very confident.  This compares to 43% who said they weren’t confident about affording their dream retirement. 

The younger generation, who have the longest time to prepare for their retirement, are the most certain they will reach their goals, with 52% of the 18-34 age group saying they’re confident about their finances in retirement.  However, those closer to retirement were significantly less happy – 49% of those aged 35-54 who ought to be well on the path to setting their retirement goals, and 43% of the over 55s who are the closest to retirement say they’re not confident they could afford to fund the years post-work.

The UK’s retirement dreams

Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of unbiased.co.uk, comments: “The message from this research is that people need to start preparing as soon as they can for their retirement, if they want to fulfil their dreams. Retirement presents a great opportunity to experience the things you never had time for during your working life, so it is crucial that people do everything they can to make the most of it financially. Advisers on unbiased.co.uk say they can have the most significant impact on a client’s income in retirement if they seek advice 15 years before they retire, but it’s never too late to start planning.  Even at-retirement advice will boost income, and a professional financial adviser is the best way to ensure you make the most of your pension savings”

Recent changes to pensions regulation have left thousands of people unclear on how the changes affect them and their future.  When asked about how well they understand the new pension rules, a third (33%) said they either had a poor level of knowledge, or didn’t even know the changes had been made.  Incredibly, that includes a quarter (24%) of over 55s who said they weren’t aware or didn’t understand the changes regarding pensions freedoms, the guidance guarantee, and the end of annuities. Understanding was lowest amongst the younger generation, with 42% saying they lacked knowledge of the recent changes.

Karen Barrett continued: “This research shows a mismatch between how people would want to spend their retirement, and the reality that faces them.  Unbiased.co.uk has previously called for the government to take steps to help people understand the changes that will have such an impact on the rest of their lives, and yet still the current proposals for the guidance guarantee are simply not going far enough. 

“Pensions and retirement have always been key drivers for people seeking advice via unbiased.co.uk, but the recent changes are inevitably going to make a complicated area of finances even more so. We want to help people understand what the changes mean so they can feel confident in taking charge of their financial future, and find the right adviser to help them plan for their retirement so that they can spend it as they’d like to – whether that’s seeing more of the world or treating their grandchildren.”

In addition to holidays and travelling, almost a quarter of UK adults say they would like to buy a property abroad for their retirement, with this figure rising to 37% among cosmopolitan Londoners. 

unbiased.co.uk lists over 24,000 IFAs, financial advisers, mortgage advisers, solicitors and accountants and the site offers a range of tools and information, helping consumers to make sense of the advice choices available to them.  

ENDS

Notes to editors:

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Anna Schirmer/ Sarah Tye, Lansons: 020 7294 3682

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About unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website

The unbiased.co.uk website launched in 1998 and rapidly became the UK’s leading online destination for consumers and businesses looking to find an adviser.  Now attracting over one million visitors a year, unbiased.co.uk is the default adviser directory for consumer websites recommending their audience to ‘find an adviser’.

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