2005
(15/02/05) Britons save more for their retirement than other Europeans and 'dream' of retiring at 56
- Britons in work start planning / saving for retirement at 31 and save around £198 a month.
- British workers save more for retirement than their counterparts in other leading European countries but lag behind those in North America and Australia and Japan.
International research from AXA, the global insurance company, reveals that the average age which workers in the UK would like to retire is 56, but realistically they expect to work until they are 62.
The findings revealed that on average people in Britain start preparing for their retirement at the age of 31 and are saving around £198 a month. However, one in three has yet to start preparing for life after work and only 56% expect to have a comfortable retirement.
| Country | The age at which people in work start preparing for retirement | How much people save each month for their retirement |
|---|---|---|
| UK | 31 | €285 (£198) |
| New Zealand | 32 | €309 |
| USA | 34 | €531 |
| Canada | 34 | €323 |
| Germany | 34 | €241 |
| The Netherlands | 35 | €199 |
| Australia | 36 | €405 |
| France | 37 | €203 |
| Belgium | 37 | €226 |
| Portugal | 46 | €195 |
| Spain | 46 | €208 |
| Italy | 51 | €160 |
| Japan | 52 | €293 |
Steve Folkard, Head of Pensions Marketing at AXA said: “Our research shows that retirement planning is high on the agenda for many people in the UK. However, there is still a sizeable proportion of the working population who have yet to make any plans for retirement and unless they start soon, they may find that they will have to continue working until their late 60’s or even 70’s.”
The arrangements Britain’s working population have made to help secure an income in retirement
Some 64% of Briton's working population claim to have life assurance policies which they will use to help fund their retirements. This is closely followed by 63% who say they have pension plans with their employers.
| Investment/savings used by people to save for their retirement | Percentage of working population using these savings methods |
|---|---|
| Life Insurance /policies | 64% |
| Insurance policy / pension fund provided by employer | 63% |
| Other pension scheme | 49% |
| Real estate | 52% |
| Other Savings | 61% |
Expectations of the cost of living in retirement
Despite Britons being the first to start thinking about retirement and using a range of investments to save for it, only 56% of the working population expect to have a comfortable life after work. 59% of the country's retired population consider their retirement income to be sufficient.
Elsewhere around the world, only 10% of Japanese people in work expect to have comfortable retirements, as do less than half of the working populations in Portugal (40%), France (45%), Italy (46%) and Spain (47%). This might help explain why people in these countries don't start thinking about retirement until much later on in life than people in the UK, for example.
Steve Folkard said: “Our research shows that around the world, retirement planning is high on people's agendas and that there is a great deal of anxiety as to what life after work holds for them.
“In the UK there is a growing realisation amongst workers that unless they do more about saving for retirement they will not have the benefits that the current generation of pensioners enjoy.
“The good news is that people have can have a high degree of control over what sort of income they can expect when they stop work and the sooner they start saving the better off they are likely to be.”
- Ends -
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Notes to editors:
The survey was conducted over the phone by NOP from October 11th-31st 2004. A total of 9,200 people were interviewed in 15 countries across the world.
In each country around 300 working people and 300 retired people were interviewed. The only exception was the USA where around 400 working and 400 retired people were questioned.
AXA is a worldwide leader in financial protection and wealth management, with major operations in Western Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area. AXA employs 117,000 staff and tied agents (at 31 December 2003) and, as of 30 June 2004, had €827 billion in assets under management. AXA reported total revenues for first half 2004 of €37 billion and underlying earnings of €1,436 million. Our previous company performance is not a guide to how we may perform in the future.
AXA ordinary shares are listed on the Paris Stock Exchange; AXA American Depositary Shares (ADSs) are listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol AXA.