Working into retirement

The UK is ready to work into retirement, with the majority (61%) of UK workers planning to carry on working if they haven?t saved enough by the time they hit their target retirement age of 63, according to a release from Aegon UK.

 The study found that:

?      Workers expect to retire at 63, two years earlier than state pension age in 2018.

?      Three in five (61%) plan to carry on working if they miss target retirement age.

?      Majority (64%) of UK workers not confident about retiring at target age.

More than one in three (36%) plan to continue working in their current role until they have enough saved; a quarter (28%) expect their employer to create a part-time or flexible role; while one in ten (9%) expect to become self-employed.

Workers in healthcare (40%) administrative (31%) and engineering and manufacturing sectors (32%) are most likely to expect their employer to create a flexible role for them, while those in the creative arts and design sector (32%) are more inclined to become self-employed and start up their own business.

It coincides with a number of recent studies that point to a longer retirement for UK workers, where living beyond a hundred will become much more common for children born within the next generation. The latest Wealth and assets survey from the ONS showed that 58% of those surveyed in 2012-2014 now believe they will retire aged 65-69, up from 54% in the previous two years.

UK workers are waking up to the possibility that they may have to work for longer than they expected, as 93% of the UK public are falling behind on their retirement savings. Most it seems would prefer to work on rather than dip into their pension savings, with fewer than one in ten (8%) UK professionals approaching age 55 planning to take a lump sum as they near retirement.

Angela Seymour Jackson, Managing Director Workplace Pensions, Aegon UK said:

?Workers across the UK are waking up to the reality that they will likely have to work well past their planned retirement age to make up for shortfalls in their savings. With so many expecting to work on past traditional retirement age on more flexible contracts, employers will need to move quickly to accommodate this new later-life work culture. Creating a flexible and inclusive workplace strategy won?t only benefit those working longer to hit their savings targets but, according to recent research, will also prove good for business, adding ?100 billion to UK productivity.?