Reaching 48 years old is that watershed moment when people realise they need to start saving for retirement.
The problem is one in four 48 years olds suddenly understand they have little or no pension savings, according to new research by financial firm NFU Mutual.
At 48, people see the stark reality of retiring without enough money and review what they feel might be realistic retirement saving goals.
Even worse, one in 10 who aged 55 or over feel they may never save enough money to give up work, while many push back their retirement deadline.
The research found starting a pension too late was one of the main reasons those approaching retirement are concerned about their finances.
No financial strategy
Almost two thirds of workers aged under 25 have no pensions and have not considered how much they need to save for retirement, while just over a quarter of workers aged 48 face the same financial problem.
Steve Meredith, a pension and retirement specialist at NFU Mutual, said: “Putting off retirement planning is not a good strategy, however far away someone might think giving up work for good might be.
“It doesn’t matter if you are 18, 48 or 68, it is not too early to start saving and planning of your later years. Any savings, no matter how small, are worth putting aside and will make life easier later on.
“That’s why taking action and saving something now is so important.”
Meanwhile, a separate survey by online financial comparison web site confused.com echoes the findings of the NFU research.
Debt-ridden retirement
The web site study found a quarter of over 55s still at work are not contributing to a pension, and almost a fifth of workers without pensions have no other investments or retirement savings.
One in eight of over 55s will still have significant debts when they retire.
Overall, the research revealed a third of workers are not paying into a pension.
Even those who are making some financial provision for retirement lack knowledge about their savings.
A third have no idea how much they are saving or the value of their pension pots.
Almost a fifth of over 55s confessed they doubted if they could retire debt-free, while 12% agreed they would still have debts to pay once they had retired.
“Those approaching retirement now have a gloomy retirement to look forward to,” said a spokesman for the web site.
“They will struggle with an increasing cost of living and continuing debts while trying to get past on the state pension.”
