Pensions - Articles - Where will you retire? Look at your current job for a clue

 Retirement destination according to former occupation

 The district of South Bucks, squeezed between suburban north west London and the Chiltern Hills, has a higher concentration of retired senior management professionals than anywhere else in England and Wales, with nearly 14 per cent of all retirees having previously held a position of this level. The London borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Cotswolds district (both 13 per cent) complete the top three.

  

 The figures also reveal a higher proportion of retired tradesmen in Stoke-on-Trent than anywhere else. Famous for its pottery industry, over a quarter (27 per cent) of its retired population are former skilled manual workers. Meanwhile Plymouth, despite its famous seafaring tradition, has the highest concentration of retired customer services and sales professionals at 10 per cent.

 The area with the highest proportion of people who are retired from jobs such as cleaners, helpers and labourers is Kingston upon Hull (27 per cent of all retirees).

  

 Retirement destination according to former employment industry

 Prudential also analysed trends in retirement locations based on the industry an individual was formerly employed in. The results appear to show a trend for retirees to remain close to where they’ve worked. In the Surrey borough of Spelthorne, close to Heathrow airport, retirees are more likely to have worked in transport and storage than anywhere else in the country.

 Perhaps unsurprisingly Cambridge and Oxford have the highest proportion of retirees who previously worked in education, while seven of the top 10 areas with the highest concentration of retired information and communications professionals are London boroughs.

  

 Some of the results help to reinforce some widely held preconceptions of places in England and Wales – for example, you’re most likely to find a retired estate agent in Kensington and Chelsea, while Blackpool has the highest proportion of people who have retired from a life of working in the hotel, hospitality and catering business.

  

 Stan Russell, retirement income expert at Prudential, said: “Our analysis appears to challenge the traditional image of retirees spending their golden years by the sea or in the countryside. The trend seems to be that many people are retiring close to where they have spent their working lives.

  

 “Upping sticks and moving home when the time comes to give up work is an expensive business and for many retirees the costs may be just too prohibitive. Anyone approaching retirement or contemplating such a move would do well to speak to a professional financial adviser and agree how to turn their retirement plans into reality.

  

 “Regardless of occupation and post-work plans, the fundamental of pension saving remains true – to secure the best retirement income possible it is important to save as much as possible as early as possible in your working life. And in the light of the new freedoms available to pension savers, everyone should make the most of the free guidance available from the Pension Wise service before making any important decisions about their pension.”