When you think about your financial future, three numbers are important:
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At what age would you like to stop working or have the financial freedom to do something different?
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What’s the monthly income you’ll need to support that new lifestyle?
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What’s the size of the pension fund you’d need to generate that income?
How much will you need to retire?
Although these numbers are vital for our financial futures, many people appear reluctant to start planning for retirement until it’s too late. As part of our What’s your number? report, we carried out a survey to understand British people’s attitudes to saving for later life. The results reveal some alarming statistics:
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Only 7% of UK adults know the age at which they would like to retire
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Just 2% of UK adults say their target retirement pot is an important number to know
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The average annual income that people feel they need for retirement is £34,000, but the pot needed to generate this income would be close to £1 million
Despite years of effort by the financial services industry, most Brits are unwilling to even think about their longer-term savings, including higher earners. Pension savers now face unprecedented challenges, from the current global economic slowdown to historically low annuity rates, so financial advice is as essential as ever.