One in every five people is at risk of leaving retirement planning too late, according to Hargreaves Lansdown.
According to a Hargreaves Lansdown client study of 400 customers conducted in January 2022, one in five customers stated they didn’t start planning for retirement until they were at least 60 years old. Leaving it so late can leave you with less time to make up any contribution shortfalls and may limit options
Another one-fifth stated they would/did start planning for retirement between the ages of 30 and 39. One in seven people, or 14 per cent, said they started thinking about retiring when they were between the ages of 18 and 24.
Hargreaves Lansdown senior pensions and retirement analyst Helen Morrissey says: “Retirement can feel like a long way away and it is easy to put off planning until the last moment. However, by doing this you leave yourself at risk of not giving yourself enough time to make up any shortfall in retirement income and this can really limit your options.
“Pensions are a long-term game and it’s worth taking the time earlier in your career to think about what kind of retirement you would like and put a plan in place to help you achieve it. Checking in on progress on a regular basis will help you stay on track as you can make adjustments as and when needed and you can plan with confidence.
“Circumstances can change quickly – we’ve seen many older workers leave the workplace early because of the pandemic and many have not returned. Having a retirement plan already in place can take the fear factor out of the future and mean you have the choice to take on part-time work for instance, rather than relying on a full-time job.”