A new study has found that around 20% of over 50′s are planning to work at least ten years past the state retirement age. The study of 1,500 adults undertaken by insurer LV= also revealed that nearly a quarter plan to work at least six years past the conventional retirement age, which is set to rise for both men and women in the coming years. In 2018 the state retirement age will rise to 65 for women and in 2020 it will rise to 66 for men.
Ray Chinn from LV= said that …”…the trend of people retiring well into their 60s, or even their 70s, has been increasing slowly over the last few years. The rising cost of living, low interest rates on savings and the fact that as a nation we are living longer has had a significant impact on our retirement aspirations, and the amount of money we need to live a comfortable retirement.” Low interest rates and rising inflation has resulted in an increase in the number of people planning to work past retirement. This figure has risen by around 1.6 million in the last year alone, according to the data.
The closure of many final salary (defined contribution) pension schemes will mean that many of the the next generation of retirees will find themselves on lower incomes than the current generation, it has been argued. However, not all of those people who are having to work past retirement age are doing so because they cannot afford to retire. Many are doing so because they do not wish to give up working, taking advantage of the abolition of the default retirement age which was scrapped by the government this year.
