New research shows that one in ten of the nation’s retirees are spending less than an hour to determine their financial future for potentially the next 25 years or longer

New research shows that one in ten of the nation’s retirees are spending less than an hour to determine their financial future for potentially the next 25 years or longer

• Over one in five, (22%) spend a year or more researching their travel plans and other big dreams for their life in retirement.
• Over one in ten, (12%) of the nation’s retirees admitted that they spent less than an hour arranging their retirement income for potentially the next 25 years or longer.
• One in seven, (14%) of retirees wish they had spent more time on planning their retirement income.
• 71% of retirees had big retirement dreams – with nearly half saying that holidays topped their list, (49%), followed by nearly a fifth wanting to take up new hobbies, (18%) and a similar number looking to do house renovations, (17%).
• Legal & General and unbiased.co.uk have prepared an At-Retirement guide to help increase awareness, for those at retirement who are arranging their retirement income, of allowing adequate time for the important decisions they need to make. 

New research¹ released today by Legal & General and unbiased.co.uk shows that over one in ten, (12%) of the nation’s retirees spent less than an hour researching, choosing and arranging one of life’s most important decisions – their retirement income.

Total time spent planning and arranging retirement income:

Yet, when it comes to their plans for their life after work, the nation’s retirees take their time to plan and research.  When asked to choose from a list of retirement dreams,  nearly three quarters, (71%) said they planned at least one of these for their life after work, with nearly a quarter, (22%) of this group admitting they have spent a year or more planning their big retirement dreams.

Topping the ‘retirement dreams’ table for retirees aged over 55 is travelling or a big holiday, with nearly half, (49%) planning on making a big trip in retirement. This was followed up in second place by ‘taking up a new hobby’, (18%),’renovating their house’, (17%) in third and moving house, (13%) in fourth.

Retirement satisfaction

When asked if they had any regrets about how much time they took planning their retirement income, 14% said they felt they hadn’t spent enough time arranging their retirement income and were concerned. Nearly one in seven, (15%) said they arranged their retirement income with their employer and trusted they had spent enough time looking at the options. One in ten, however said they used a financial adviser and were confident in the income they receive. Overall, only 38% of over 55 retirees said they were happy with their retirement income, while nearly a third, (30%) said they were dissatisfied with the amount.

Tim Gosden, Head of Strategy for Legal & General’s Individual Retirement Solutions Business comments: “Our research shows that there is a clear knowledge gap among retirees aged 55 and over about the time required for planning their retirement income. While retirement is a great time to enjoy the dreams we’ve thought about during our working days, the amount of time spent planning those dreams, versus the time spent considering our retirement income options, which will ultimately fund those retirement dreams, appears worryingly inadequate. Many of us will now live into our nineties and beyond and so taking less than 3 months, let alone less than an hour is unlikely to be long enough to plan ahead. Investing in time, which includes researching options, seeking financial advice and shopping around the market for the best deal can pay real dividends, particularly if it results in a lifetime of extra income.

“Arranging retirement income can be a daunting process, with some people ending up making the wrong choices, often because they just choose the quickest, easiest route. We believe that every customer arranging their retirement income deserves at least a 15 minute conversation, with a knowledgeable person to start to understand their retirement options and priorities, and so they appreciate why it is worth investing the time. This could be their pension provider, a financial adviser or an intermediary – but everyone deserves that conversation and the industry needs to ensure that they get it.”

Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of unbiased.co.uk, comments: “Seeing that so many of us are spending less than an hour on a decision that will determine your income for the remainder of your life is hugely concerning. There are a lot of factors that can influence the income you receive in retirement, whether this is your health, where you live or if you are married. It’s crucial that people are spending time looking into all the income options that are available to them at retirement.  It’s vital that if people don’t understand their options they seek the right advice. Only a whole of market adviser can review all of the options available in retirement and ensure you are getting the best income possible. For a free and confidential search for a whole of market retirement adviser go to www.unbiased.co.uk. ”

Legal & General and unbiased.co.uk have together come up with a simple guide for people considering retirement.  The guide is available to download from the unbiased.co.uk site at http://www.unbiased.co.uk/at-retirement-guide or Legal & General site where there is also more detail of the ‘15 minute conversation’ campaign at  http://www.legalandgeneral.com/annuities/15-minute-conversation

Details of advisers available to help with those important retirement choices are available on www.unbiased.co.uk.

For more information contact:

Anna Schirmer / Emily Falla / Kate Aitchison Lansons Communications: 020 7294 3682

Or Berni Ryan, PR manager Legal & General, 07788 926790, [email protected]

For expert commentary or case studies from over 200 media-friendly advisers, journalists should visit unbiased.co.uk Bluebook - the media adviser directory

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Notes to editors:

¹ Research carried out by Opinium Research, between 10-16 January 2014, among 1,005 UK retired adults aged 55+. Respondents were asked to estimate the total amount of time they had spent on planning or arranging their “retirement dreams” and also the total amount of time they had spent planning or arranging their retirement income.

About Legal & General:

At Legal & General, we have a dedicated team of actuaries and scientists whose role is to predict longevity trends and people’s life expectancy. We do this by analysing our experience of our own customer base of over one million annuitants and by using external research including the latest medical advances and national statistics. Based on our research and considerable experience of the annuity market, we expect a 65 year old customer taking out our standard annuity to live on average to age 90, so many people may live longer than 25 years.

Legal & General is one of the UK’s leading financial services companies and one of the UK’s top 50 companies in the FTSE 100 Index. Over 7 million people rely on us for life assurance, pensions, investments and general insurance plans.

Legal & General has been an active participant in the annuity market for over 25 years and provides annuities to over 1 million customers.  Legal & General’s Retirement Business is one of the leading annuity providers in the UK and has expertise in investment management, as well as an in-depth understanding of mortality trends and longevity risk. As one of the leading annuity providers, Legal & General’s aim is to consistently offer our customers competitive annuity rates, which rank in the top 5 of annuity rates available.

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’.

1. business.unbiased.co.uk. 

Unbiased Ltd promotes the benefits of financial and legal advice to consumers and businesses and would like to thank the following companies for their support:

Unbiased Ltd - Registered Office: 12-14 Berry St, London, EC1V 0AU.  Registered in England: No. 06775878.