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Confidence Crisis: Uncomfortable retirement prospects
Savers are becoming less confident they’ll have enough to retire with, Katey Pigden writes.
An uncertain financial future lies ahead.
The notion of having enough money to life comfortably for the rest of our lives feels an unrealistic – or perhaps – unachievable aim for many.
Retirement confidence is on the decline. But should we be surprised?
Some people are not saving towards their retirement at all, others are not saving anywhere near enough.
Women are more likely to come off worse. They are less confident about what their retirement prospects will look like.
And it seems with good reason(s). The gender pay gap for starters. Smaller private pensions, less in savings – cash and investments, feeling like they are not as informed as they’d like to be – and that can be preventing them from making decisions.
Most of us – men and women alike – recognise we should start saving for our retirement sooner rather than later. But we’re not necessarily doing so.
Generally speaking, we have a tendency to underestimate how much we will need and for how long.
There are concerns pensioners won’t be able to rely on the state in future as a form of retirement income. Will the state pension exist in its current form in years to come? Or exist at all?
People’s grasp of the system doesn’t always match reality in any case.
Younger generations may find themselves having to fork out rent or mortgage payments longer than their older counterparts.
Not forgetting other financial commitments, of course – which may be preventing people from saving more towards retirement in the first place.
Policy changes, speculation, a lack of financial education, the cost of living and a mistrust in governments doesn’t help matters either.
A lack of awareness of the new independent pensions commission or faith in its ability to make a positive difference is also something of note, from the 2025 Nucleus UK Retirement Confidence Index (RCI).
Is it any wonder people are not feeling overly optimistic about how rosy their retirement will be?
You might be pleased to hear that according to the research carried out by YouGov with 4,359 adults aged 18 and over – confidence remains highest among those who benefit from regulated financial advice.
The kicker being – we know that only accounts for a relatively small proportion of the population.
Those who do get advice tend to be edging closer to retirement, rather than say be in their 20s, when ideally people should should start planning and saving for it – certainly before they turn 40, the research findings suggest.
This year’s report is the third iteration of the RCI. Retirement confidence has fallen to its lowest point since the survey began in 2023.
Back then the score came in at 6.9 out of 10 but the first wave of research only included adults aged 50 and above.
Last year, it was broadened to include adults aged 18 and over, which returned an overall score of 4.6.
This year, that’s down to 4.2. The 55+ age cohort remain the most positive, although waning and there’s a downward trend in confidence across all age groups and gender.
Delving into the detail of responses to the central question: “How confident are you that you’ll have enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life?” makes for somewhat uncomfortable reading.
This article first appeared on Octo Members
