A significant number of young people are concerned about their retirement fund, yet feel their quality of life post-retirement will be high, research from Scottish Widows has suggested.
According to the survey, the average young person is putting away more than £5000 each year, whether that’s saving for their own home or thinking ahead for their pension.
The research found young British people expect an improvement in their quality of life once they’ve retired, with three in four millennials hoping to at least maintain their living standards.
However, the research found only 14 per cent feel they are saving sufficiently for retirement, with 28 per cent concerned that they have no solid plan to fund their life post-career.
Young British people are putting away around £214 on average a month towards their pensions, but the fact that nearly a third are not, suggest a different retirement reality for most millennials.
The main reasons they cited for the lack of financial planning were not earning enough (18 per cent) and rent being too expensive (11 per cent).
Jackie Leiper, a retirement expert at Scottish Widows, said: “It’s exciting to see that so many young Brits are viewing their future retirements with optimism and confidence and many are making financial plans to support themselves in later life.
“It’s normal for the younger generation not to save as much as older individuals because generally they are on lower wages and saving for other items, such as home ownership, or are paying off debt.
“However, money saved at the age of 25 could provide twice as much retirement income as money saved at the age of 50, even allowing for inflation.”
The research quizzed young people what their hopes were in retirement, with many aspiring to write a novel, continue studying, or to build a home. In terms of aspirational retirees, Dame Helen Mirren tops the the poll of the most aspire-worthy celebrity of retirement age.
