Will You Have Enough For A Really Comfortable Retirement?

Having enough money to comfortably retire on is an issue that concerns many people at the moment.

But deciding exactly how much you will need is a question that’s perennially difficult to answer.

A recent study has found, as might be expected, most people aren’t saving enough for their retirement. And it found, more worryingly, that most people only realise this once they’ve retired.

On a brighter note the study found that those who are well informed investors now are much more likely to be comfortably off in retirement.

The Global Investor Study 2018 by Schroders surveyed 22,000 people across 30 countries. Here are some of its most interesting conclusions for the UK market:

* Those aged 55+ anticipate they will need around two thirds (66%) of their current salary to live comfortably in retirement. But UK retirees are only receiving around half (53%) of their salary.

* Pre-retirees significantly underestimated how much of their income they will need for ordinary daily living expenses. They anticipated spending just 38% of their income on these while actual retirees found that they need to spend over half (53%) of their income on life’s essentials.

* Most UK retirees said their retirement income was just ‘sufficient’. But 40% said they could use more income, and a significant 8% said that they did not have enough income to live on comfortably.

* It pays to be well informed! Those yet to retire feel they need to be saving more for their retirement. But well informed investors – those who describe their investment knowledge as expert or advanced  – are saving more of their income and also have a much narrower gap (just 1%) between what they are saving and what they feel they should be saving in order to live comfortably.

* Well informed investors are much more likely to be living comfortably in retirement than those with only basic investment knowledge. A sizable majority  – 78% – of well informed investors said they had sufficient income to live on comfortably.

Carlile Alexander Private Wealth are available to provide expert financial advice on whether your income in retirement is likely to provide you with a comfortable lifestyle. Our advisers are able to review your current financial situation, use sophisticated cash flow modelling systems to build an accurate picture of your future income and advise on suitable strategies to maximise your income in retirement.

Please contact us for more information.