Jessica O'ConnorThe majority of adults are not confident they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, research from Nucleus’ second UK Retirement Confidence Index has revealed.
More than 4,300 people aged 18 and above took part in the recent YouGov research, looking at retirement confidence levels.
A total of 60% were not confident about their retirement prospects.
Just over a third (34%) of respondents felt they would have enough money to live comfortably for the rest of their lives, while 6% were not sure what their financial future could look like at all.
The 2024 Nucleus UK Retirement Confidence Index also highlighted that 22% of adults think they will need between £20,000 and £30,000 a year for a comfortable retirement.
This would fall significantly short of the PLSA’s definition of ‘comfortable’, which estimates an individual would require an income of £43,100 to achieve the desired lifestyle.
For many, the figure is likely to be made up of the state pension, private pension and other forms of savings and investment.
However, just under half of respondents to the Nucleus study believed the state pension will not exist in the future, while 39% were not contributing to their pension provision.
With so much speculation and concern surrounding the 2024 Autumn Budget, Nucleus also took the pulse of the public shortly after the announcement to see how retirement confidence levels were impacted.
2,100 people took part in this research, with 26% suggesting they were either slightly less or much less confident about their financial planning retirement prospects.
None of the respondents surveyed felt much more confident after the Budget announcement and only 2% said they were feeling slightly more confident.
Andrew Tully, technical services director at Nucleus, said: “Broadening our study for this year’s Retirement Confidence Index has shone a light on the challenges different generations face when it comes to feeling confident about their financial future.
“One message that comes through loud and clear from our findings is that people need to start planning and saving for later life much, much earlier.”
He added: “It’s certainly what our over-50s would tell their younger selves and hopefully what they are telling their children and grandchildren.
“But while the desire is there, many people don’t seem to know where to begin and are finding it difficult to think about the longer-term when they have other more immediate problems to contend with.
“Part of that is due to a lack of understanding, which shows a real need for better financial education to put adults on a good footing.
“Those who do feel more confident about being able to enjoy a comfortable retirement stress the importance of having a plan and seeking quality financial advice.”
He concluded: “The road to a financially secure retirement is paved by making the right choices at the right times.
“We need to help lay the foundations, so people are ready to take the first step.
“With people potentially underestimating how much they will need, not appreciating how long they might need it for and not saving anywhere near enough, future retirees could be facing a perfect storm.
“It’s in all our interests to get the message out there: when it comes to retirement planning, if you didn’t start yesterday, then today is the next best day.”
