50% of people in East of England say they can't afford to save for a pension
Many also report they won't be able to afford to live on their current pension pot
Last updated 4th Oct 2022
Half of people in the East say they don't have enough money in their pension to live on.
Meanwhile While 52% say they can't afford to have or save for a retirement fund.
The findings come from a survey by Nutmeg, in collaboration with Retail Economics, which shows that those who are about to retire, across the country, are facing a £187 billion shortfall- this being equivalent to £271,000 per person.
Those on lower incomes, who are three times more likely to be without any pensions savings, are putting contributing to a pensions scheme on the back burner owing to the cost of living.
In today’s money, those aged 65+ would need £29,500 of income, (after tax), to live comfortably in retirement.
"It's about trying to look after your future-self"
Annabelle Williams is a former journalist and personal finance specialist.
She says we shouldn't just rely on government contributions, to help us once we stop working:
"A lot of people think that the state pension will support them in retirement, now the state pension is around £9,500 a year, but when you talk to people about the amount of money that they think they are going to need to get by- it's more like £12,000 per year. So that gap does need filling".
Ms Williams also told us those who putting funds away should try and maintain their current levels. While those who can afford it shouldn't waste time in putting cash away:
"We all have so many other immediate competing drains on our financial resources and everyone is feeling the pinch. It's really important to, if you can, maintain the existing contributions to your pensions because what the cost of living crisis is doing is highlighting the sheer number of people who are reaching retirement and don't have enough money saved".
"It's about trying to look after your future-self, if you can, by putting aside a little bit of money, today. The earlier you start the better. Pensions are invested and if your money is invested over 30 years it's potentially going to be worth a lot more than if it was invested over five or ten years".
What else can people do to help their pension?
Annabelle told us we should all have at look at Government's pension tracing service website, to make sure we're getting what we're entitled to:
"It can help re-connect you with previous pensions. There is something like £400 million sitting in pension pots that have been lost and are awaiting to reunited with their owners. The average per person is £13,000. That doesn't sound like so much money, but if that's invested over 25 years- that could be worth £44,000".