Now, drawing on the research data, as a means of helping people engage with retirement savings, we have calculated the Christmas hampers the PLSA has derived from each of the three retirement living standards.
In one version the items are labelled against the supermarket we sourced them from (to help your designers find them for any images they might want to use). We have also provided a version without the supermarkets named in case you need options with or without brands if you want to reproduce them in full on the printed page.
Methodology
The Christmas dinner budgets have been compiled to illustrate what someone could choose to purchase from the “celebration events” budget within the Retirement Living Standards. An overall annual “celebration budget” was set by research discussion groups for each standard at £50 for the minimum, £150 for moderate and £300 at the comfortable per household. From these annual budgets we allocated the following amounts for Christmas dinner expenditure on the assumption that Christmas would be the main celebration event for the individual: £39 (minimum), £103 (moderate) and (£209) comfortable.
Supporting quote
Nigel Peaple, Director of Policy & Advocacy at the PLSA, said: “To help people plan for retirement, the Retirement Living Standards identify the lifestyles retirees can expect at three different levels of expenditure minimum, moderate and comfortable. The three levels were identified by the British public and supported by independent academic research. Drawing on this research, we have compiled three festive hampers to illustrate the type of spending retirees might realistically expect at each level.
“The good news is that pretty much everyone, thanks to the State Pension, will more or less achieve the minimum level, especially if they are able to share costs in a couple. And if you are one of the 80% of employees who save in a workplace pension, and you are on average earnings, you will be well on the way to achieving the moderate level.
“We encourage anybody interested in working out how much to is needed for their retirement to explore the Retirement Living Standards via the dedicated website to understand their individual needs. You should also dig out your most recent pension scheme statement and see where you are on the retirement saving journey. Your pension scheme may also provide some handy pension calculators on its website to help you work out whether you are saving enough.
“Don’t forget that if you are over 50 and are unsure of the choices you face about how to access your pension savings, free guidance is available via the government sponsored Pension Wise website, where you can make also make an appointment to discuss your options.”
About the RLS
Pitched at three different levels – minimum, moderate and comfortable – the Retirement Living Standards are designed to help people picture the lifestyle they want when they retire, and understand the cost.
Developed and maintained independently by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University, they describe the cost of three different baskets of goods and services, established by what the public considers realistic and relevant expectations for retirement living. These baskets comprise household bills, food and drink, transport, holidays and leisure, clothing and social and cultural participation.
|
