Three in five (61%) of UK workers plan to carry on working if they haven’t saved enough by the time they hit their target retirement age, according to new research from Aegon.
More than one in three (36%) plan to stay in their current role until they have saved enough, a quarter (28%) expect their employer to create a part-time or flexible role for them and one in ten (9%) expect to become self-employed.
Those working in healthcare (40%), administrative (31%) and engineering and manufacturing (32%) have higher expectations of their employer creating a flexible role for them. Those in the creative arts (32%) said they are more inclined to become self-employed and start up their own business.
Angela Seymour Jackson, managing director Workplace Pensions, Aegon UK says:
“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.”
These findings coincide with a number of recent studies that point to longer retirement for UK workers, where living beyond a hundred will become more common for children born within the next generation.
The latest Wealth and Assets survey from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that 58 percent of those surveyed in 2012-2014 now believe they will retire aged 65-69, up from 54 percent in the previous two years.
UK workers are waking up to the possibility that they may have to work for longer than they expected, with 93 percent falling behind on their retirement savings. Most seem to prefer to work on rather than dip into their pension savings, with fewer than one in ten (8%) of UK professionals approaching age 55 planning to take a lump sum when they retire.
Jackson adds:
“While there are benefits for the economy in older people staying in the workforce, it should be a matter of choice as to whether people continue working and not simply down to a lack of savings. For this reason it’s important that pension providers and employers engage workers early with their pension in order that they understand how on track they are with their savings.”
Amie Filcher is an editorial assistant at HRreview.
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