One-fifth (20%) of employee respondents believe they will never be able to retire due to poor financial planning, according to research by Wealth Wizards.
Its Working late: pension savings and delayed retirement report, which surveyed 500 employers and 1,000 UK employees aged between 18 and 65, also found that 86% of employee respondents want to retire at or before age 65, however only 37% of respondents feel this is financially feasible.
The research also found:
- 45% of employee respondents aged between 18 and 34 are concerned about their lack of pension savings, and 56% of overall employee respondents wish they had contributed more to their pension pot when they were younger.
- 45% of employer respondents would embrace employees who wished to work into their eighties.
- 49% of employee respondents over 55-years-old think their employers should be doing more to guarantee their financial stability in retirement, compared to 59% of employee respondents aged between 18 and 34.
- 24% of employee respondents are offered financial education by their employer.
- 17% of employer respondents match employee pension contributions to between 1-3% and 24% match beyond 3%.
- 27% of employer respondents think that having a greater number of older employees in their workforce will boost productivity, and 15% feel that an ageing employee base will impact productivity.
- 44% of employer respondents prefer to hire older individuals compared to younger individuals, and 16% do not think having a preference for older staff will cause there to be fewer positions for younger employees.
- 58% of employer respondents believe that hiring more older staff at the expense of giving younger employees their first foot on the career ladder should be seen as a significant concern.
Phil Blows (pictured), director at Wealth Wizards, said: “The reality is that two-thirds of the working population will be unable to retire at 65 due to insufficient pension savings. The UK is already faced with an ageing workforce where [employees] aged over 64 have doubled in the past 20 years. It is important that employers and the government work together to ensure employees are provided with cost-effective and accessible advice and support to help them plan for retirement.
“The good news is that it’s not too late for people to benefit from professional expert advice in order to alleviate their stress and concerns around their financial future. The key for employees is to act now and explore potential advice solutions with employers.”
