New research has revealed that the area where you live could impact your pension spending power in later life. The study was conducted to compare households across the UK and assess how financially ready they are for a comfortable retirement.
The data identified striking geographical disparities. Yorkshire and Devon, for instance, performed well, whereas London scored relatively poorly. For people retirement planning in Oswestry, neighbouring Powys across the Welsh border featured in the top ten most resilient retirement spots. In Powys, 53% of people had saved enough for retirement.
Analyst Helena Morrisey said the findings demonstrated that, even in the top performing parts of the UK, a lot of people were failing to sufficiently prepare for retirement. If you are currently planning your retirement, it is important to know how close you are to realising your financial goals, using online pension calculators.
There are different ways in which you can bolster your savings. For example, it may be a good idea to track down any lost pension pots. Nationwide, it is estimated that £31.1 billion is lying in inactive or unclaimed pension pots. You might opt to consolidate your different pension plans in one larger pot, or delay claiming your pension altogether. State pensions are raised by 2.5% per deferred year.
Some people may choose to boost their pension contribution at work. It is also worth exploring whether you can be bolder with your pension investments, and weighing up your appetite for risk the closer you get to retirement age. Wherever you are in the country, making small changes like these could help boost your retirement spending power.
