Just over a quarter of UK consumers are on track to achieve their retirement goals, despite 85% of people believing they have a fair to excellent understanding of pensions, according to Schroders Personal Wealth (SPW).
Its research among 1,600 UK adults showed there is little confidence among consumers they will achieve their required pension pot to live the life they want in retirement.
SPW has launched a Retirement Ready campaign to encourage people to take control of their financial future.
‘Few people are on track to reach their goal’
Mark Campbell, head of advice proposition, SPW, said: “Our research highlights how few people are on track to reach their goal when it comes to retirement and shows the importance of not leaving it too late to plan for your future.
“Whilst it’s encouraging to see that the majority of UK consumers are confident when it comes to understanding pensions, it’s concerning they aren’t on track to live the life they want to in retirement.”
He added: “There is still a clear need for people to seek financial guidance to help them potentially achieve their goals.
“Our new campaign will make people think about their financial future and help them to become ‘Retirement Ready’.”
More than two-fifths (41%) of those surveyed plan to retire slowly by gradually reducing their working hours over a period of time ranging from one or two (26%) to more than seven years (19%) which will have a major impact on household incomes in the future.
SPW’s research showed 27% of people believe they’ll need a pension pot of £300,000 or above, yet only 26% are confident they’re on track to achieve this.
Worryingly, 17% of people are not sure how much they’ll need to live the life they want when they retire.
Travel and new skills are high on the list of retirement priorities
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of those surveyed were hoping to travel more and learn new skills.
This was closely followed by 50% of people wanting to spend more time with family and friends, with only 12% planning to buy their dream purchase such as a car or holiday home.
SPW is a joint venture between Lloyds Banking Group and Schroders – two of the UK’s biggest names in banking and asset management.
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