People in the UK are feeling slightly more confident about their ability to retire comfortably than two years ago, Aegon’s latest retirement confidence survey has revealed. But the assurer is warning against over confidence amongst UK savers.
To mark Pension Awareness Week, Aegon conducted research which found that 52% of people feel confident about a comfortable retirement, compared to 48% in 2017.
However, the findings also highlighted that many people continue to remain in the dark about making provisions for retirement, with as many as one in ten admitting to not having any pension savings.
Over a third (36%) of those polled by Aegon have never estimated their income needs for retirement and a quarter of those with pension savings are unsure of how much they hold. While this uncertainty was lowest (19%) among 55-64 year olds, Aegon said it was still “worrying” considering how close they are to retirement.
Steven Cameron, pensions director, Aegon, said: “It’s encouraging to see an indication of growing confidence over the last two years when it comes to being able to retire comfortably. Pensions have frequently hit the news headlines in the last few years. While at times this has been for less good reasons, there have been lots of positive stories.
“All of this has contributed to raising the profile of retirement planning, leading to people taking more interest and action, improving the confidence people have when it comes to being able to retire comfortably.”
However, Cameron warned that pension savers must be realistic about the future.
He added: “Overconfidence carries risks and people mustn’t be lulled into a false sense of security. While auto-enrolment means millions of employees are saving more for retirement, that doesn’t mean they’re on target for the retirement they aspire to.
“Furthermore, the growing population of self-employed are excluded from auto-enrolment and can’t rely on an employer to support their retirement funding.
“Realistically, there’s a lot more required to make sure you’ve saved enough for the retirement you would like.”
