A new study based on analysis of data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has uncovered that more than a million UK retirees are counting on their State Pension for income in retirement.
UK savers with fears that the government pension will not be sufficient to supply them with the lifestyle they seek in later life often consult retirement planning specialists in Chester and other major cities for support. With an understanding of their client’s financial circumstances, assets and ambitions, wealth managers can help them to plot a course towards a retirement that matches their ideal.
The statistics showed that 1.2 million households of retirees are mostly reliant on their State Pension. Such a retirement household was determined by the ONS as residence where at least three quarters of the household’s total income was provided by the government pension, or by other similar state benefits that were pension related.
The study found that single pensioners now account for the highest number of households that are largely dependent on a State Pension income. However, a troubling gender imbalance showed that 580,000 women compared to 180,000 men primarily rely on the pension they draw.
The report commented that the minimum standard income for a pensioner should be around £12,800 each year. Currently, the State Pension is £10,600, which creates a £2,200 shortfall each year. Even with the anticipated 8.5 per cent increase added through the currently uncertain triple lock rule, pensioners relying on the State Pension will still be short of the minimum standard for income by at least £1,300 per annum.
