Article by Mhairi
Who is planning to retire early
According to modelling from savings provider Flagstone only 15% of people are on track to retire early with their desired level of income at the age they would like to retire.
That’s a utopian position, but it does show how far away 85% of people are from their dream retirement if you like.
Flagstone also broke the numbers down into different sectors and found that those in the travel and transport industries were the least likely to achieve their ultimate goals, whilst unsurprisingly those in the finance sector were the most likely to achieve their ideal retirements. But still only 21.2% of finance sector workers.
The ideal retirement age was 61.
The bad news is that the modelling found that the majority of people wouldn’t be able to achieve their ultimate retirement goals until they were 83! People will continue to retire early of course, but not with the lifestyle that would have liked.
Calculating whether you can retire early is a key part of what we do as pension advisers. Offering a free pension review is the first step along the road to finding out.
Pension Transfers
If you are planning to retire early, often one of the important parts of the process is to transfer your pensions into one place, to reduce charges and access better performance. Not always of course.
But one of the issues you could face are delays in transfer process. Especially since there were 1.7 million pension transfers in 2025. Pension Bee thinks that there are ways that the pension transfer system could be improved. It recommends that the statutory transfer time limit of six months is reduced.
It also suggests that the Amber Flag system used to prevent fraudulent transfers needs an overhaul. This should only apply when funds are being transferred to unusual destinations, not when they are being moved to other “known” UK based pension providers. Amber Flags also mean that people have to make an appointment to speak to the governments Money helper service. This creates unnecessary delay, especially where the individual is using a pension advisor.
Pension Bee are also concerned that many pension schemes still use a paper-based approach to transfers and that there are few consequences for those who take too long to deal with requests. We would agree with all of this.
State Pension Age to rise.
According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) the state pension age is going to have to rise again sooner rather than later. That’s just after it increases this year to 67 for those born in 1960.
But the IFS is also suggesting that the age private pensions can be accessed should be reviewed as well. With gradual increases to make the access age higher than 55 as it is today.
Certainly, those public sector pensions accessible at 50 need to be phased out. The country simply can’t afford the costs, with ever increasing life expectancy.
By 2049 (only 25 years’ time!) there will be 3.5 million people over the age of 85. The overall number of pensioners will have increased to 15 million.
But good old Tony Blair has other plans ….
The Tony Blair Institute (described as a “think tank”) has just released a highly controversial report suggesting the end of the state pension as we know it today, in order to reduce the burgeoning cost to government.
The report calls for the state pension to be replaced by a lifespan fund which would be built up through national insurance contributions but would allow for more flexibility. Suggestions include allowing people to drawdown on the fund in periods of unemployment for example, but also for the fund to pay less in pension benefits to those who live longer and more to those with ill health and shorter life expectancy.
It would also only last for 20 years.
Most commentators have recoiled at the ideas. One of the main concerns being the levels of complexity involved in a personalised lifetime scheme. This would only add cost and probably be subject to widespread exploitation.
But the principle of reducing pension costs does need to be addressed.
Get more information.
If you are looking to retire early then why not contact Christina today. She offers a free initial meeting to discuss your requirements and explain how our service works. You are under no obligation to use us after that if you don’t want to and we won’t pester you.
So why not call us today on 01282 614444 or e mail us enquiries@ccfps.co.uk or use our contact form online.
