The UK Cost Of Living Crisis is forcing people who are in their fifties to work until they are in their seventies.
That was the main shocking finding that came from a survey conducted by My Pension Expert.
The cost of many items which people need in their every day lives is increasing rapidly meaning that people who are nearing state pension age will not have adequate amounts of finance available to ensure that they have a comfortable standard of living in their retirement. There may be many reasons for this. One of the main reasons people need extra money nowadays is the increasing cost of energy. This means that it will cost more to hear your home or continue to use many of the electrical devices that people use in their every day lives.
There can be many reasons for the high costs of energy. This includes increased demand on a resource that may be limited in supply. There is also a shortage of storing space in which to adequately maintain excess amounts of energy which are produced. One of the main reasons for this is the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Due to the fact that many of the raw materials needed to produce different forms of energy come from the region, Russia has been able to manipulate the cost of different raw materials which go in to the production of different forms of energy.
This has meant that many people will not have been able to afford the inflated costs at the petrol pumps or the charges that different energy companies place on their customers. This has meant they may have been forced to stay at home as they are unable to afford the costs to adequately maintain or run their cars or similar kinds of vehicles. This will have also meant that they are unable to attend work to earn money which will pay for the every day items they need.
According to the data collected,
Over a quarter (26%) of over-55s in work think they will still be working in their 70s
44% say the cost-of-living crisis has made retirement impossible
Yet just 37% have a financial plan for retirement; only 43% know how much is in their pension
Over a quarter of over-55s believe they will still be working in their 70s, with the majority lacking a financial plan for retirement, new research by My Pension Expert has revealed.
The study also found that the majority of people in their fifties are ill prepared for their retirement with less than half of those asked not knowing how much they had actually saved in their pension pots. This has meant that they are unable to prepare for many of the activities they were planning to take part in during their retirement and may have had to resort to taking out a loan or relying on the benefit system in order to afford them.
Andrew Megson, CEO of My Pension Expert, said: “Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been making it abundantly clear that he wants to keep over-55s “economically active”. “Britain needs you”, he said, despite the fact that older workers have been poorly treated and under-acknowledged for many years. No, it won’t be a sense of duty that keep them in employment, but necessity, as our research proves.
“The cost-of-living crisis is squeezing people’s finances and derailing their long-term plans. Many believe decisions around retirement are now out of their hands. Worryingly, though, not nearly enough is being done to boost pension engagement or access to independent advice, both of which would give Britons the tools to effectively plan for a secure, stable, financially viable retirement.
“No one should feel pressured to delay retirement, nor return to employment after decades of hard work and diligent saving. The government ought to be working with the financial advice sector to ensure more people can access advice to make informed decisions and achieve their financial goals – knowledge is power, and our research shows that .”
