Aviva has published its Real Retirement Report for 2013. Below is the foreword by Clive Bolton, managing director of Aviva's ‘at retirement' business.
"Welcome to Aviva's Autumn 2013 Real Retirement Report. Since the beginning of 2010 we have been monitoring the concerns and finances across three distinctive ages of retirement - pre-retiree (aged 55-64), retiring (65-74) and long-term retired (over-75) - and our findings continue to add new depths to our understanding of how thecountry's over-55s fare financially.
With each report we provide a different perspective on the fortunes of these age groups when it comes to moneymanagement. In this edition, we explore the financial wisdom of the retired and ask how the experiences they have collected impact their overall outlook, as well as questioning what the true ingredients of a happy retirement are.
Were their career choices fuelled by genuine passion for the job or an impressive pay cheque? Would they rather have enough money to live comfortably in retirement or are they just pleased to have someone to share their time with? These answers and more are revealed on page 4.
Although many over-55s chose their main career based on the belief they would be good at it, a surprising number embarked upon their chosen occupation purely because of its convenient location. Men are almost twice as likely as women to have been influenced by salary above all else, while women are more likely to have chosen their career based on its location.
More than half of over-55s changed occupation during their working life, for a variety of reasons. A fifth were prompted to bite the bullet as they were unhappy in their current position, with those in the current 55-64 age bracket significantly more likely to have done so than the over-75s. This hints at the improved mobility and increased opportunities we have seen developing over the past couple of decades. Others were simply inspired by a passion to try something new.
The key to a happy retirement, irrelevant of age, is good health, with having enough money to live comfortably a close second. Contrary to popular belief, pursuing hobbies and interests appear surprisingly far down the list, while more than one in six over-55s believe sharing their retirement with a partner to be the most significant priority.
However, the importance of companionship appears to increase with age. The continued low interest rate environment has severely impacted the general finances of over-55s, with the number of people over the age of 65 receiving income from savings falling by almost a tenth over the past year. Although short and long-term financial fears have fallen slightly overall during the last quarter, the general concern about the rising cost of living remains unchanged.
Despite gains made in terms of income, shrinking savings pots and a continued upward trend in expenditure means that the finances of the over-55s remain stretched. Effective financial planning is therefore absolutely essential to ensure that retirement budgets are able to meet day-to-day costs."
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