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Pensions & Retirement

More than 34 million adults face uncertain retirement, Scottish Widows finds

62% of adults could be affected by ill health, divorce, bereavement, low financial resilience or a lack of confidence in managing money.

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More than 34 million adults face uncertain retirement, Scottish Widows finds
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More than 34 million adults could face a major life event or financial challenge that affects their retirement savings, data from Scottish Widows found.

Three in five (62%) of adults could be affected by ill health, divorce, bereavement, low financial resilience or a lack of confidence in managing money.

More than half of people with vulnerable characteristics said saving for retirement increased their current financial stress, compared with 29% of other adults.

61% of vulnerable people felt overwhelmed when thinking about retirement savings, compared with 33% of those without vulnerable characteristics.

This increased to 66% among LGBTQ+ adults with a vulnerability and 65% among single mothers.

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Almost two-thirds of vulnerable adults had carried out little or no research into retirement, while 28% had made no arrangements.

28% had not started paying into a pension, while 13% had stopped or reduced their retirement savings during the previous 12 months.

Six in 10 adults do not feel confident managing their retirement savings and 66% are worried about running out of money after they retire. 

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Of this group, 38% were from an ethnic minority.

Nearly a third of adults did not think they would be able to afford to stop working at retirement age. 

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This increased to 53% among people with a health concern.

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Jill Henderson, retirement expert at Scottish Widows, said: “Financial vulnerability is something many people face at different points in their life for a variety of reasons. 

“It could be because of ill health or going through a major life event like divorce, bereavement or a change in working status, as well as things like debt, having little to no savings or low financial confidence. 

“Whatever form it takes, the reality is that most of us will be affected by financial vulnerability at some point in our lives, even for a short period.”

Henderson added: “This can have a permanent impact on people’s long-term financial plans, as the demands of living today may affect saving for tomorrow. 

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“When income drops – for example because someone may be unable to work for health reasons – savings can start to dwindle, debt can build, and longer-term financial plans may take a backseat.

“It’s true that there’s no easy fix to this – but helping people build resilience while things are going well, and supporting them properly when circumstances change – is an important place to start.”

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