With research showing that pre-retirees (that’s those aged 55 – 64) are on average financially worse off than those who have already retired, it is worth explaining how people in this age group can help bolster their retirement income. It is quite alarming to discover that 4/10 people in this age bracket do not save any money at all and 1/5 owe over £75,000 in mortgage payments. And to top all this off, many have argued that these people have a lack of awareness over what annuities are and how they work. This would be backed up by claims that “40% of retirees are still missing out on the best UK annuity rates” according to rightannuity.co.uk.
Aviva has also recently been doing some research called the “Real Retirement Report” which noted that many find retirement planning confusing. Darren Dicks who works for Aviva said that “…this lack of knowledge could see some people settling for a far lower income than they are entitled to or others finding that their income dries up altogether when their partner dies.” He added that a person’s annuity choice will impact their standard of living for the rest of their life and so it was vitally important to make the right decision. With such variations in rates available by shopping around, it’s hardly surprising that many in the pension industry are almost imploring retirees to search between providers.
