One-third (33%) of respondents who are at retirement or are looking to retire in the future are unconcerned about funding their retirement, according to Close Brothers Asset Management.
Its inaugural Trends in wealth report: Road to retirement, which surveyed more than 1,000 UK adults with gross household incomes of £70,000 or more, found that nearly half (48%) of respondents are worried about having sufficient post-retirement income to meet their needs.
Employees in London are the most worried, with 72% of respondents concerned that their future retirement income will be insufficient. But only 64% of London respondents who have not retired have made plans for retirement, the lowest in the country.
In contrast, 80% of respondents in Northern Ireland have made plans.
The research also found:
- One in seven respondents has yet to make any pension provision.
- 3% of respondents are confident the state pension will provide sufficient income to fund their retirement goals.
- 28% of respondents have considered long-term care costs.
- 52% of respondents who want to retire at some point feel they will need to continue working in some form.
Andrew Fay (pictured), head of wealth management at Close Brothers Asset Management, said: “Even affluent individuals are starting to fret about their prospective income in retirement. Despite the high level of concern, the number of people who are able and willing to plan and save for their retirement is too low.
“The increasing cost of living, combined with the impact of the rising cost of home ownership is seeing planning for later life fall down the agenda, but relying on ‘something to turn up’ is a dangerous approach.
“Financial planning has never been more crucial, and every year that pension planning is delayed is costly. At this rate, we are either going to see the population of retirees working part-time continue to rocket, or many at retirement forced to reduce their goals to match the reality of their means.
“London is typically depicted as the wealthiest part of the UK, but the cost of living in the capital is having a detrimental impact on financial planning. Far too many residents are being forced to focus on funding their current standard of living rather than looking towards their pension pots, and this is a recipe for financial trouble further down the line.”