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One In Ten Have No Plan To Retire

Written by on 31 August, 2010

A new report has revealed that 10% of the working population have no plans to retire. The figures show that the equivalent of 3.5 million people are planning on working until they die, showing a massive contrast compared to the results of the same report two years ago, with a ten-fold increase of workers admitting they are unable to save what they need in order to stop working.

The research, by Barings investment bank’s Asset Management shows soaring numbers of workers believe they will be forced to work forever after such a difficult recession — they simply cannot afford to stop. If the estimates are correct then one in ten Britons would be employed or self-employed right up until their deathbed rather than having a comfortable retirement that relies on a pension or savings. Most of these elderly workers will be low to moderate earners. This is a sharp rise compared to 2008 where 100% of workers were confident that they would retire at some point.

This latest study shows that the flaws in the pension system and the effects of the recession have completely changed views of workers — 15 million non-retired UK adults (42%) are now unable to say at what age they are likely to retire, compared to a tiny 1% when the same report was carried out in 2008, before the economic downturn.

Barings’ report shows that older workers are particularly feeling the strain of the recession, with 15% of people between 55 and 64 not planning on retiring, and 36% of people aged 65 and over with no plans to give up the day job in old age. Even more shocking, almost 100,000 who are yet to retire intend to work until they are at least 76 years old, while a further 2.3 million Britons plan on working past the age of 65 %mdash; an increase from 1.9 million last year. There is also a distinct difference between men and women in the research, with over two thirds of those that plan to retire after the age of 65 being male, and a slight regional difference, with England figures of those who have no plans to retire reaching 12% compared to only 5% in Scotland.

These worrying figures reflect the plans to rise the age at which you can get a state pension, which is currently at 65 for men and 60 for women. A basic state pension offers around £97.50 per week, but workers are clearly anticipating that this will not be enough for them to live on. Experts have called for a universal state pension which sees the end of the current means tested system in order to give workers peace of mind that their basic living needs will be met.

The news comes after recent reports that few people are saving enough into a pension in preparation for retirement, causing fears that the elderly will soon be living in poverty. With figures in April declaring that a couple would need to save £600,000 in order to have a comfortable retirement, it’s no wonder that British workers are feeling forced to earn until they’re on their last legs.

Recent reports have revealed that more and more people — an estimated third of Britons – have to rely on their life savings to cope with the rising costs of everyday goods and services, making it more difficult to set money aside for later life. With the added worries of high levels of price inflation increasing living costs, combined with rising property costs, there is more call now than ever for a reform of the state pension system.

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