Article by Phil
The State Pension age continues to be under scrutiny, as we’ve looked at before. Some of the numbers are quite startling based on the latest ONS (Office for National Statistics) figures:
- The number of over 85’s will increase to 3.1 million by 2045
- The overall number of pensioners will increase to over 15 million, up by almost 30% on today’s figures, and that’s based on the increased pension age of 67.
- By contrast the number of working age people will only increase by 4%, so seven times as many people will start drawing their pensions.
- That means that workers will have to pay more tax to support the increase in pensions.
- There are regional variations in play as well. Blackpool has the worst life expectancy less than 8 years below the average. Whereas the Orkney Islands is the place to be with average ages 12 years over the national average.
However, this increase in pensioners is not going to be comfortable for many of them, especially women. The latest survey by HSBC has thrown up some worrying numbers including:
- A quarter of women over 35 have saved NOTHING into a pension pot.
- Just over half of women had saved over £1000 into their pension pots, but that’s nowhere near enough with over 90% estimating that they would need £30,000 a year to live comfortably in retirement.
- 27% of women currently depend on their state pension for all their income. This compares with only 15% of men.
Are you happy with your pension arrangements or do you need to speak to a Pension Advisor?
Perhaps you would benefit from a Pension Review?
