Savings crisis as less than one in three feel they are on track to achieve the level of retirement income they need

  • More than half of adults are not confident they will have enough income to see them through their later years
  • East Midlanders have a deficit of 15 years retirement income to make up
  •  The young and the Scottish are most worried about the impact Brexit will have on their pension

Just three in 10 adults feel they are either very or fairly confident they are on track to achieve the level income they want to see them through their retirement. 

By contrast, half said they were not confident they were going to have generated the income they needed. For the over-55s age group, closer to retirement, the proportion was 47 per cent.

The worrying insight into savers' concerns that they will not have enough money for their pension years, was revealed in a survey that looked at retirement confidence across the country.

Bleak future? Half of adults fear they are not on track for the retirement income they need

Bleak future? Half of adults fear they are not on track for the retirement income they need

From a regional perspective, those in the East Midlands were most pessimistic, with just 17 per cent saying they felt confident they were on track. 

This could be down to the fact that just one in three living in the region said have an existing pension pot, the lowest proportion of any group in the UK. 

The average pension pot in the East Midlands was the lowest, standing at £17,963, which allowing for future growth delivered a potential pot at retirement of just £149,046, according to the research by online investment platform Nutmeg.

This means they will have enough savings for just five years of retirement, based on the income levels they want to live off. 

By contrast,  Londoners had an existing pot of £52,516, which allowing for future growth would mean they are in line for more than three times as much - with a future lump sum of £499,775. 

But despite this stronger financial position, just 34 per cent said they were on track for their desired level of income.

This is likely to be because those in London have a desired retirement income of just over £35,000, which at a 4 per cent withdrawal rate would require a pension pot of £875,000 

Confidence crisis: The Scottish feel most on track, while the East Midlands lags behind 

Confidence crisis: The Scottish feel most on track, while the East Midlands lags behind 

The Scots are the most confident, and among the best prepared. They have an average pension pot of £47,989 and 43 per cent say they are either very or fairly confident they can generate the retirement income they need. 

While the figures may vary, no UK region is saving enough to deliver its desired income in retirement. the report claimed

National life expectancy is 81, while desired retirement age varies between 60 and 65. 

Based on potential pension pot size, those in the East Midlands are facing a shortfall of 15 years between the length of retirement they have saved for and their life expectancy. 

That is closely followed by a 12 year shortfall in the North East, while London has the smallest deficit of three years. 

In the capital Nutmeg calculated that a pension pot would deliver 14 years' worth of the desired income of £35,000 to someone retiring at the desired age of 64. With national life expectancy of 81, savers would fall three years short.

Time to go: All regions face a shortfall in the amount of years their income will sustain them

Time to go: All regions face a shortfall in the amount of years their income will sustain them

Lisa Caplan, a financial adviser at Nutmeg, said: 'Our expectations for pension income are profoundly unrealistic. Across the UK, many people will have to choose between increasing their savings, adjusting their expectations, or accepting that they will run out of money at some point during their retirement and become dependent on benefits'.

Brexit fears

The young are most concerned about the effect Brexit will have on their pension. Those aged 18 to 39 were more than twice as worried as those over the age of 55, 39 per cent relative to 17 per cent of the older age group.

Regionally, the Scottish are most worried about the effect that leaving the EU will have, with 37 per cent expressing concern, higher than the UK average of 30 per cent. 

In the referendum, 62 per cent of Scots voted to remain part of the Union, compared with 48 per cent of the wider population. 

Mixed picture: The young and the Scottish are most worried about Brexit's effect on pensions

Mixed picture: The young and the Scottish are most worried about Brexit's effect on pensions

Only one in four of the Welsh, and those living in the South West and East of England were concerned.

The research was commissioned by Nutmeg and conducted by Opinium, who polled 2,006 adults who have not yet retired between 2 and 6 September 2016.

The sample has been weighted to reflect a nationally representative audience. 

Potential pension pot size was calculated using existing pension pot size, and monthly contributions. Growth is based on a constant return rate of 6 per cent, the average age of respondents and average age respondents want to retire.

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