A quarter of people expect to use inheritance to help fund their retirement plans, according to research by Standard Life.
The provider says the most popular retirement top-up plans for people who have saved into a pension are other investments (43 per cent) and inheritance (24 per cent). The research shows 10 per cent are planning to use equity release on their main home, with 23 per cent planning to use rental income or the sale of a property. A further 16 per cent intend to use a partner or spouse’s income. The research found that 7 per cent of over-55s don’t plan to retire, even though they had been saving into a pension. Using the state pension or other state benefits was the favoured choice of the majority of people, with 76 per cent saying they would do so. And 23 per cent of women are expecting to receive a retirement top-up from their spouse, while 13 per cent of men make the same assumption.
To help support people topping up pensions when making investment decisions, Standard Life has launched a range of investment funds, called MyFolio3. The MyFolio funds are a family of carefully constructed risk-based portfolios that offer clients a choice of active and passive investment strategies across five risk levels. Three styles are available to suit each clients’ investment philosophy:
MyFolio Market Funds are a lower cost option investing mainly in tracker funds.
Standard Life MyFolio Funds are an actively managed option that invests mainly in funds managed by Standard Life Investments.
MyFolio Multi-Manager Funds are portfolios of funds from leading managers across the market.
John Lawson, head of pensions policy at Standard Life says: “Nearly half a million people in the UK over 55 are not planning to retire. This shows our attitudes towards retirement are changing, as people consider the implications of working and living longer than ever before. We know that many people want to continue working on their own terms, while some will want to start a new business or learn a new skill.
“Unfortunately, some may not have got their financial planning quite right. The realisation of reaching 65 and having to fund another 30 years in retirement has made them rethink their future plans.
“Relying on certain sources of income, for example an inheritance, could leave you short changed, so seeking the right financial advice early on and taking practical steps to ensure you don’t have all your eggs in one basket may prove a prudent move in later years.”
