In the study of 3,000 over 50s, SunLife found that women are more worried about not having enough money in later life than men. Just 13% of women over 50 say they are confident they will have enough money for a retirement income; 36% say they definitely don’t think they will have enough. In contrast, 22% of men over 50 say they are confident they have enough and 30% say they don’t.
Overall, 28% of over 50s do not have a private or company pension, but amongst women, this figure rises to 35%.
Many over 50s say they will look to other income sources other than pensions for retirement income; 27% say they are hoping their partner or spouses’ pension will fund their retirement, rising to 30% of women, 12% say they are going to continue to work to provide an income, while 11% are expecting an inheritance.
According to SunLife’s research, homeowners over 50 have seen their homes increase in value by around £135k, and 20% of over 50s say they plan to use this equity to help fund their retirement; 14% say they will downsize, 6% plan to use equity release.
Simon Stanney, equity release, marketing director at SunLife said: “Our research reveals that one in five over 50s don’t have private pensions and that many over 50s are worried about being able to find their retirement. But we can also see that one in five have realised the value of their home could help bolster their pensions, either by downsizing or equity release.”
Simon says that while more over 50s say they would downsize than use equity release, the reality is that when it comes to it, most over 50s don’t actually want to give up their homes.
“Our research reveals that 62% of over 55s do not want to downsize; this is where equity release can offer a solution. Equity release allows homeownersover 55 to release some of the money tied up in the value of their home without having to move. It's tax-free and the money can be used however they wish, so could help make their retirement more comfortable.”
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