“They say that a picture paints a thousand words and recent research by the Equity Release Council* certainly conjures up a stark one of Britain’s pension problems. The research found that 24% of adults and almost one in three of those aged 61-75 feel the lottery offers the best chance of living happily once they’ve retired. Statistics like this certainly remind me of the famous Western scene of the glass sliding down the bar and hopefully being caught before it smashed to the floor. Have we reached the Last Chance Saloon when it comes to getting the UK population to face up to what needs to be done to plan for their retirement?
“These findings follow recent research from AXA Wealth, which shows that the average shortfall in pension provision for UK adults is more than £4,600 per year. These are significant sums for people to make up once in retirement and while it may seem a daunting prospect, which would be eased by a lottery win, proper long-term financial planning is the key.
“The next three years are critical if we are to move the mindset of the UK toward the essential nature of taking ownership of their own savings and retirement future. The importance of the issue needs to be brought into focus and not treated as something that can be opted out of. Key initiatives such as auto-enrolment, the flat rate state pension and financial education to the younger generations have to be successful in the next few years as the only possible outcome of failure is compulsory pension saving.
“Funding for retirement should be treated as an ongoing process, and most definitely not something sought a few months before finishing work or left to the chance of winning the lottery. The challenge is to make pension savings and retirement something that people can identify with, something that is real and they can touch and feel. Only by succeeding at changing people’s approach to long-term financial planning will we help to solve the problems we face as a nation.”
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