Only a quarter (26%) of people from the North-East and the East Midlands said they felt confident about their retirement prospects.
Only 18% of people in the North East knew how much they had in their pensions.
In the North East and Scotland just under a quarter (24%) knew how much income they would need in retirement.
London scored highest across all questions with almost half (49%) saying they understood how much their pensions were worth, 41% confident they knew how much money they would need to retire, 49% understood their retirement options and 44% had a clear plan on how and when they would finish work.
Survey of 2,000 people carried out by Opinium for HL in April 2021
Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown:
“While London was a relative hotspot of retirement confidence this quickly evaporates outside the capital with areas like the North East and East Midlands consistently ranking at or near the bottom. These gaps in knowledge are putting peoples’ chances of a comfortable retirement in serious jeopardy.
People may have other financial priorities or feel their retirement is too far away to think about. They may not know where to go to get more information, but the key is to engage with your long-term savings. It is never too early – or indeed too late – to do this. You can still make positive improvements even in the years leading up to retirement.
Having a good idea of how much you have in your pension is an ideal first step. Then you can think about the kind of retirement you want in terms of where you want to live and what you want to do and see whether you have enough in your pension to meet your needs. Your pension provider or a service like Pension Wise can give you information about your options and the steps you can take to get the kind of retirement you want.
Top tips for improving your pension confidence
Having a clear idea of how much you have in your pension is vital. If you have worked for several different employers during your lifetime then you may have several pensions which added together can boost your retirement plan. It may make sense to consolidate these pensions into one or two, so you have a clear view of your pension. The Pensions Tracing Service can help you track down any pensions from previous employers that you may have lost track of.
Think about the kind of lifestyle you want in retirement, where you would like to retire and ask yourself if you have enough to fund that. Your pension provider may be able to provide access to a pension calculator to help you with this.
It’s never too late to make a difference. If you find your pension falls some way short of your retirement income expectations, then you can contribute more. Again, a pension calculator can show the impact of making extra contributions over time. Many employers also match their employees’ contributions up to a certain point. This can significantly boost your pension so check with your employer.
It’s not just about the pension – you may have other savings and investments such as ISAs that you can draw on in retirement. Be sure to take these into account when planning.
Retirement may feel like a tricky topic with lots of complicated decisions to be made but there is lots of information to help you build your knowledge and confidence. Your pension provider or employer will be able to give you information on your options and services like Pension Wise can talk you through the different decisions you will need to make.
The findings
Do you agree with the following statement: I’m confident I will be able to afford to retire?
Agree (%)
London
50
West Midlands
41
East England
40
Yorkshire and Humber
35
South West
32
Northern Ireland
32
North-West
31
Wales
31
South East
30
Scotland
30
North-East
26
East Midlands
26
Do you agree with the following statement: I have a clear idea how much all my pensions are worth?
Agree (%)
London
49
East England
42
Scotland
41
West Midlands
40
Wales
36
Yorkshire and Humber
35
East Midlands
33
South East
33
South West
33
North-West
32
Northern Ireland
30
North-East
18
Do you agree with the following statement: I have a clear idea of how much income I will need when I retire.
Agree (%)
London
41
West Midlands
39
East England
39
Yorkshire and Humber
33
Wales
31
Northern Ireland
31
North-West
29
South East
29
South West
28
East Midlands
27
North-East
24
Scotland
24
Do you agree with the following statement: I have a clear understanding of my retirement options?
Agree (%)
London
49
West Midlands
41
East England
39
Wales
38
Yorkshire and Humber
37
Scotland
37
North-West
35
South East
30
South West
30
Northern Ireland
28
East Midlands
26
North-East
24
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