Pension time bomb (Can’t say we didn’t tell you!)

What does retirement mean to you? When a financial adviser asks this, it is not so much polite conversation, it’s to gauge what you feel will be the type of lifestyle you would like, and what lifestyle after 65 you can actually have, based on what you will be able to afford.

Biz-find articles |lloyd-george

When Welfare was brought in to UK around 1910 through the roles of Asquith and Lloyd George, the life expectancy of a British male around that time was 50 years of age, so as a prime minister of the time you could easily promise a pension to people because not many would get past 60 years of age anyway. Today, however the life expectancy of a British male is around 77 and a British woman 81.

Biz-find Articles | UK PM Asquith

Also back in 1910 they never calculated for a World War and the massive birth rate after WW2 finished in 1945, meaning 65 years after the war i.e. 2010, has meant that a massive number of people have made it to 65 and are now starting to demand from the government, a pension each week which was promised to them, only fair, sure. But if you are less than 40 years of age and think you can go to the pub each day like Granddad does now, when you retire think again!

A recent study conducted by insurance giant Aegon UK found that 30% of young people expected to retire before the age of 65, while 13pc planned to retire at 70 – which is, according to experts, a more likely retirement age.

An estimated 12.5 million people have no pension and an increasing number of people are concerned that the rising cost of living will prevent them from putting aside enough for old age.

The average UK income is £22,000 per year, to retire on this you would need at least £500,000 (half a million quid) invested to draw down around 5% each year on a good year, let’s forget about the lousy exchange rates since 2007 and go on 100 year average eh?  So, about £2,000 per month draw-down (pension).

If you are 30 now you would need to put away at least £800-1000 per/month into a good strong investment fund to make an average income.

Problem starts when people are not working, they tend to spend more, so an average income would not be enough for most to live out their dreams!

People are going to have to wait longer and longer before a state pension kicks in and it’s just not mathematically viable anymore in fact more and more Britons do not know when they will be able to retire as this graph shows:

Percentage of non-retired people who do not know when they will be able to retire

Age                       2013 2012    2011

18-24                    54%   42%   46%

25-34                    39%   32%   36%

35-44                    39%   38%   38%

45-54                    40%   38%   32%

55-64                    34%   44%   30%

65 and over           18%   15%   15%

Total                     40%   38%   36%

So if you are the 1 in 7 with no plans to retire, are you an entrepreneur, or do you just live in the here and now like a Tibetan Monk? Either way we would love to know what you are doing to stave of the impending doom of a poor retirement?

Contact Netmedia we are not financial advisers , but we can help you start up an online business to at least have a proper crack at trying to make some decent money online before you are queuing up outside the Post Office each week for a pittance!!