Over 50s feel ignored by brands in favour of younger consumers, according to the latest research by SunLife - despite wielding almost £120bn of annual spending power.
Part of SunLife’s Welcome to Life After 50 campaign, the Big 50 report – which interviewed 50,000 over 50s – found 59 per cent of people aged 50+ say brands aren’t interested in them.
When asked which brands they feel ignore them the most, more than a third said the fashion industry was the worst culprit, a quarter said it is the technology sector and one in six said health and beauty.
But it is not just stereotypically ‘young’ industries that are ignoring older customers; one in ten over 50s say they feel ignored by the financial sector the most.
This is despite the fact over 50s spend 50 per cent more on pensions, savings and investments than under 50s (£150 a month compared to £100 a month for under 50s) and are 8 per cent more likely to have insurance.
Over 50s also spend a considerably higher percentage of their overall income (19 per cent) on financial products than people aged under 50 do (14 per cent).
Dean Lamble, CEO at SunLife said: “Over 50s currently make up a third of the UK population - by 2020, half of us will be over 503 - while spending among the over 50s is growing at three times the rate of the under 50s, yet brands are still obsessed with targeting younger age groups.
“Our research also reveals that most people in their 50s feel richer now than at any other age and are more than willing to spend their cash now than when they were younger,” he said.
The majority (62 per cent) say money is there to be spent, and more than half (56 per cent) say their cash is for them to have fun with now, and they are not prepared to give it to anyone else.
Mr Lamble concluded: “There is such a huge opportunity here for brands, but many are reluctant to make their products appealing to people over 50, or don’t know how to."
But IFAs believe the over 50s are mostly well looked over by their community.
Justin King, chartered financial planner of Mfp Wealth Management in Christchurch, said: "All my clients are over 50 but I think there is a classic problem that there are a huge number of people who need advice but who can't afford it or don't want to pay for it.
"It is like going to the gym - many people could benefit from it but few are prepared to pay for it."
Robin Melley, chartered financial planner of Shropshire-based Matrix Capital said his own experience tends to contradict the survey results.
"The vast majority of our clients are over 50 years of age and have significant issues in relation to estate planning/IHT mitigation, making sure they have sufficient income in retirement and managing their investable assets effectively.
"We see a lower demand for financial planning and financial advice from the under 50s, with the exception of the children of our over 50 clients and there are many product providers that offer financial products and services that target the needs of the over 50s."
Andrew Pennie, head of Pathways at Intelligent Pensions, agreed: "Financial services brands have become increasingly focused on the over 50s, particularly since the launch of pension freedom and choice.
"This is a trend I expect to see continue as the number of people approaching retirement with pensions and larger funds steadily increases year on year.
"The research is based on averages and perhaps disappointingly highlights the difference between the haves and the have nots in older age.
"Overall, the perception of financial services fares reasonably well against other industries but there is always more that can be done to engage more effectively with this and other audiences when it comes to financial services and financial education."
