Brexit and US President Donald Trump are the least of older people’s retirement concerns, Fidelity International’s research revealed.
Fidelity carried out a poll between 9 and 15 March 2017 among 504 UK adults aged 55 plus who have accessed their pension pot since April 2015.
Low interest rates at 73 per cent topped people's pension concerns (73 per cent).
But market volatility (64 per cent) and changes to pensions policy (59 per cent of respondents) weighed heavily on this group's mind, beating both Brexit at (47 per cent) and the Trump presidency at (45 per cent).
Richard Parkin, head of pensions policy at Fidelity International, said: “For those getting income from investments, it’s unsurprising that market volatility and low interest rates score highly.
"To date the impact from Brexit and the change of president in the US has largely been higher stock markets so many may see them as having a positive effect.
"But Brexit led to a fall in long-term interest rates that has resulted in lower yields. While we have seen some recovery from the lows of last year, fixed income yields are down sharply.
"Brexit is also starting to drive inflation higher which will also impact those living on fixed incomes.
“As we head into a general election, uncertainty around pensions’ policy is never far from people’s minds and, indeed, a lot of the chatter has been on aspects such as the triple lock and pension taxation."
Patrick Connolly, head of communications at Chase de Vere, said: "If investors are worried about investment yields and market volatility, this suggests that going into drawdown might not be the right approach for them.
"We have real concerns about people going into drawdown without taking independent financial advice when their starting point should be to have a secure income to, at least, cover their basic living costs."
emma.hughes@ft.com
