People can’t afford to retire, suggests Baring Asset Management

It seems likely that more and more people will explore equity release options if new findings from Baring Asset Management are accurate.

Its latest research reveals that 10% of the working population, around 3.5 million people, have no plans to ever stop working and 15 million (42%) non-retired UK adults are unable to say how old they expect to be when they retire.

This is a major contrast compared with a similar study carried out in 2008, when 100% were confident that they would retire and only 1% said they did not how old they would be when they stopped working.

Today the number of people not planning to retire has increased to 15% for those aged between 55 and 64, and to 36% for people aged 65 and over. The study, conducted among non-retired British adults, also reveals that almost 100,000 people who are yet to retire plan to keep working until they are at least 76 years old.

Men are more likely to keep working than women and those in the North of England are more likely to do so than their Scottish counterparts.

Marino Valensise, chief investment officer at Barings, said: “Our research shows that, for a large number of people, the ability to retire is now uncertain. A combination of increased longevity, a rise in the cost of living, and people not saving enough means that more people are being forced to work beyond the age of 65. They simply can’t afford to stop working.

“For those approaching retirement, it is a difficult backdrop, with economic uncertainty still rumbling across all markets. People have worked hard for retirement and a few extra decisions, such as taking professional financial advice and ensuring their investment portfolios are correctly positioned, could make all the difference.”