John Perks, LV= retirement solutions director, comments on the Government considering staggering the increase in state retirement age for women and urges women to consider financial advice.
"We support changes to the state retirement age that makes it fair for as many people as possible, and a more staggered rise will be a relief to the women who currently face the sharpest increase in retirement age. Our own recent research among those close to retirement* showed that 35% of women admit they have no personal pensions savings, with 22% relying solely on the state to fund their retirement. Women over 50 are clearly worried about retirement with nearly three quarters (70%) saying they have become more concerned over the past 12 months about their financial situation and level of savings as they head towards retirement, and a quarter (25%) of women say they now expect to retire later than they originally planned.
"Building up personal savings makes a huge difference to the type of retirement people can enjoy, and if someone in their 40s or 50s doesn't yet have any retirement savings it isn't too late. With people living longer and healthier into retirement someone in their 50s could still have 20 years of working life to save something into a pension. Our research also shows that a greater number of women go without advice than men, with 70% of women over 50 saying they have not sought any financial advice about their retirement. With women historically having less personal pensions provision than men it's even more important to get the message across that it's never too late to save, and even a little advice can make a significant difference."
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