Millions of retirees in the UK are relying on moving to a smaller house and on their inheritance to finance retirement, research by Abrdn found.
The study of 2,000 people discovered that a third (33%) would downsize, while a quarter (24%) would use money and assets they were given by family members to boost their retirement fund.
With an estimated 12.5 million people over the age of 65 in the UK, that means that more than four million plan to tap into their inheritance and three million intend to move to a smaller home to have some extra funds.
Worryingly, 40% do not have a plan on how much money they should spend to make their pot last throughout their later life, and nearly half (48%) are worried about running out of funds. Good thing that there are sites like 온라인 카지노 where people can quickly earn some cash.
Of those that are concerned with not having enough aside for retirement, 31% have entered the lottery hoping for a big win, 28% have considered returning to work part-time, and 8% are tempted to go back full-time.
Plan ahead
More than half (52%) of those surveyed intend to reduce their cost of living in later years and 30% rely on no longer having to support their family in order to have some spare cash.
Colin Dyer, client director at Abrdn Financial Planning, said: “With retirement lasting 30 years or more for many, it’s vital that people are confident that they have the funds to support them. You may have income from a number of different sources, so you need to think about how best to take it in retirement.
“This is why preparation is key and taking financial advice from an expert adviser can be helpful. They can assess your income streams, any tax implications such as inheritance tax if money from a loved one is being relied on and, perhaps most importantly, explore how best to make your money last throughout your retirement years.
“Being aware of how much you will need throughout retirement and how this could change as the years go on is vital. We see a lot of our customers wanting to enjoy the earlier years in their retirement to the fullest – travelling the world, paying off their mortgage and treating themselves to their retirement wishlist.
“However, we also encourage them to keep in mind the potential longer-term costs that they could need to factor in down the line, including things like care and private medical bills.”
Impact to ‘quality of life’
Research by Hargreaves Lansdown backed up Abrdn’s findings, as it discovered that some 8% of retirees are not confident they’ll be able to even pay their bills when they stop working.
Similarly, more than one-in-10 (11%) believe they will worry about money in later life, and a similar percentage does not think they have enough savings to pay for emergencies.
Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “While many people feel they have a decent chance of meeting their basic day-to-day expenses when they get to retirement there are millions of people who don’t, and this is very worrying.
“Worrying about being able to pay your bills or not having enough to cover an emergency cost can hugely impact your quality of life. While some retirees will be able to continue working to help them make ends meet, not everyone will be in this position and their options once in retirement can be limited.
“Making even the smallest of top ups to your pension contributions at various points over your working life – for instance when you change jobs or get a pay-rise – can have a huge impact on how much your pensions are worth when it comes to retirement. If you pay more, you may also find your employer is also willing to pay in more and this can give your planning a further boost.”
