A new survey has found that more than three in five people feel “stressed” thinking about their retirement – with the figure soaring to almost three quarters of 25–34-year-olds.
Two-thirds of people also worry about how long their pension will last, according to the Aviva study.
The report was published to coincide with Stress Awareness Week which runs until Friday.
All age groups, with the exception of the over-55s, admitted to being stressed about:
- whether or not they will have enough money at retirement to do all the things they want to do (71%)
- how long their pension pot will last (65%)
- whether or not they are paying enough into their pension pot (59%)
- how early they need to start paying into a pension (49%)
The most anxious across all the age groups were the 25–34-year-olds with the starkest contrasts in numbers being around how early they need to start paying into a pension: 70% compared to the 49% national average.
But there were also stark contrasts when they were asked whether or not they should have more than one pension pot (70% compared to 50% overall) or if they are paying enough into their pension savings (77% compared to 59% overall).
Alistair McQueen, head of savings and retirement at Aviva said: “It’s only natural, in a world where most people are worried about things that are beyond their control – the rising cost of living, increasing inflation and interest rates that haven’t been seen for years – that people may also feel out of depth when it comes to things like pensions and later life preparations.”
The relatively good news in the report was that almost a fifth of people surveyed said they had spoken to a financial adviser.
More than a quarter (28%) said they sought support or guidance with later life planning from family and friends, with the figure rising to almost half (48%) of 16–24-year-olds.
Meanwhile, almost a quarter of those surveyed (23%) had turned to their employer or received help and support through their workplace.
• The research was conducted by Censuswide between 6 and 10 October 2022 from 2,001 general consumers, national representative sample.
