1. Two in five British workers aged 46 to 55 do not know how much they have saved for retirement, despite closing in on the age they can access their pensions for the first time.
2. Finding from a new study by insurance firm Aviva, which found that this age group is the most likely to not know how much they have saved in pensions.
OTHER FINDINGS BY AVIVA
1. On a broader scope, the research also shows that one-third of all employees aged 22 to 65 – the criteria currently used for automatic pension enrolment – do not know how much they have saved.
2. The Aviva research reveals that half of workers aged 22 to 65 believe they need to be saving more, rising to 52% among 31-45-year-olds, and falling to 40% for those aged 56 to 65.
3. It was also found that there is an even split between positive and negative feelings towards saving, with 41% of workers admitting they are worried, disappointed, stressful, regretful or panicked.
4. The research also highlights stark differences between the sexes, with almost a quarter of women say they feel worried about their savings, compared to just 13% of men.Similarly, while 18% of men describe themselves as confident about their savings, only 10% of women say the same.
VIEWS
1. It was “critical” for workers in their 40s and 50s to keep track of savings and avoid approaching retirement.
2. The fund can be accessed at age 55, at which point some big decisions might need to be made.
3. It is important to make cash work harder by taking on some risk to generate desired retirement income. We find income-related products such as dividend-growing equities or high-quality debt to be popular among Singaporean investors. This can be a great means of delivering higher income than cash within diversified portfolios, without sacrificing asset growth.
ON ANOTHER NOTE: SINGAPORE'S CPF
1. Almost two-thirds of Singaporeans fear they will not be able to stretch their retirement dollar amind a six-year savings gap, as life expectancy outpaces the time they plan to spend in retirement, an investment poll has found.
2. The poll of 1,000 Singapore respondents found that, in general, Singaporeans expect to stop working at 60 and spend 17 years in retirement. But this would only take them as far as the age of 77, against the average lifespan of 83 years.
3. close to half of investors’ assets, or 47 per cent, is parked in cash – just shy of 2015’s 48 per cent. They held, on average, $35,000 in long-term savings or as an investment, according to wealth management firm BlackRock's study.
4. Another 26 per cent of retirement portfolios is tied up in financial investments, such as equities and bonds, while 16 per cent is in insurance-linked investments and 7 per cent in property.
SINGAPOREAN'S MENTALITY TOWARDS SAVINGS
1. 68 per cent told pollsters they have started saving for their old age, lower than the region's 74 per cent average. Meanwhile, 64 per cent of Singaporeans polled worried their savings would expire before they did.
(Source: straitstimes, theactuary)
