The ‘retirement expectation’ gap has broken the five-year barrier for the first time, amid continued financial uncertainty, new research from Standard Life has revealed.
The retirement expectation gap – the difference between when people want to retire and when they expect to be able to – has risen to a record 5.3 years, up from 4.7 last year and 4.4 in 2024. While people still want to retire at 62.3, the age at which they expect to stop working now stands at 67.6.
It comes amid growing financial pressure, with more than a quarter (26%) of UK adults struggling to get by on their current income and 63% worrying they are not saving enough for retirement. Almost half (48%) also say their retirement finances are mainly influenced by factors outside of their control.
Standard Life said women, renters, younger generations and those living in the North East face some of the widest retirement expectations gaps. Renters face a gap of 6.8 years, increasing by 0.7 years in just 12 months, and more than three times the 2.1 year gap reported among those who own their home outright.
Women’s retirement gap has also widened from 5.4 years in 2025 to 6.1 years today, while millennials and Gen Z face gaps of 6.8 years and 5.9 years respectively – the largest of any generation.
A regional divide has also emerged, with the North East recording the widest gap of 6.6 years, compared to Greater London which has the narrowest gap of 3.8 years.
But while people’s ideal retirement age may be slipping away, working longer may not always be an option. A fifth (18%) of respondents say they would be unable to continue in their current role past 60 and 47% say they could not continue working in the same position beyond 70.
However, Standard Life’s research showed a clear link between retirement planning and the retirement expectation gap. Those who have done ‘a great deal’ of retirement planning have a gap of just 2.5 years, compared with 7.3 years among those who have done none.
Catherine Foot, director of the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, said: “The age people would ideally like to retire hasn’t changed, but the point at which they think they will actually be able to stop work is drifting further away. That is happening as the State Pension age itself begins its phased rise to 67, and against a backdrop of renewed pressure on household finances and a wider sense of economic and global uncertainty. Together, these factors risk making retirement feel less certain and more distant, rather than a milestone people can plan towards with confidence.
“The gaps matter too. Renters, women and younger generations, as well as those living in the North East, are among those furthest from the retirement they would ideally like, while many people also question whether working into their late 60s or beyond will be physically or practically possible. As the State Pension age rises, that should be an important consideration for policymakers. A sustainable retirement system cannot simply assume that everyone will be able to solve an adequacy problem by working for longer.”
Foot said the findings highlight the “scale of opportunity” presented by the next stage of the Pensions Commission to shape the adequacy of pension saving and consider the long-term future of the UK’s pension system.
“Employers also need to consider how careers can become more flexible as working lives lengthen. The goal should be a system that gives people greater confidence and is fair to the people who live with it, giving them choice over when and how they retire, rather than having a later retirement as the default because they feel they have no alternative,” Foot added.
Main image: manu-schwendener-DSwBHyWKiVw-unsplash
