Pensioners in their 80s are most likely to be happy in their retirement

Pensioners in their 80s are the happiest according to a major study of retirement published by Saga. It has been established that this group of people are likely to afford everything they want in retirement.

Saga, the over-50s specialist, investigated the financial situation and expectations of newly retired, older pensioners and people still in employment. It discovered that the majority of retired people were content and relatively financially settled with 70% able to afford to do most things they would want to.

Among this group, the average retirement age was 60-65. However, nearly a third of those who are still in their fifties and have opted for early retirement have not been able to afford to do the things they had wanted to.

The study also discovered that those drawing company pensions are the best off while those on a State pension are worst off. Personal pensions are becoming more common but the study said those with a personal pension are likely to find themselves worse off than expected.

It was also established that being your own boss often fails to pay dividends in retirement, this group of people tend to retire later but for 37% of them, retirement fails to live up to expectations.

Saga encourages workers nearing retirement to be realistic about their finances and retirement age. A spokesperson said taking expert financial advice doesn’t just help people understand their projected retirement income, it can also help those nearing retirement, understand what can be done to maximise it.

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