Retirement News

Past it? Not on your life

RETIREMENT is becoming a second adolescence for millions of baby-boomers, it is suggested today.

Retirement is like teen years Retirement is like teen years

Instead of a bus pass and a fireside seat, turning 50 or 60 is more likely to herald a new career, exotic travel plans – or even a young family.

A significant shift in the way 50 to 65-year-olds view retirement shows how role models such as Harrison Ford and Madonna are giving rise to a generation of “grandad-olescents”.

Improved health and increasing life expectancy mean that many do not regard themselves as old, and are planning to follow more active interests after they retire.

The survey of more than 2,000 people aged between 50 and 65 found 56 per cent expected to carry on working in some capacity after they reached retirement age.

And, for most, it was because they wanted to continue.

More than one in 10 said a love of the job made them want to stay in the workforce, while 14 per cent argued they were simply too young to retire.

And 12 per cent planned to try out a completely different career in their retirement. Of those who ­didn’t plan to keep working, more than a fifth said they would go on the holiday of a lifetime.

Taking inspiration from their teenage grandchildren, they would be going on gap years.

Nearly a third of respondents saw retirement as the chance to do all the things they had wanted to do but never had the time.

A quarter planned to take up new hobbies and leisure activities.

If their role models are anything to go by, these hobbies are going to be anything but sedate, according to the report by pensions company Aegon.

Young-at-heart celebrities such as Sir David Attenborough, Dame Judi Dench and the Queen of Pop, Madonna – who turns 50 this week – are setting the standard for those of retirement age.

Aegon’s Rachel Vahey said: “Retirement isn’t the abrupt cliff edge it once was and, for many of today’s baby-boomers, retirement age marks a new and exciting chapter of their lives.

“Thanks to exceptional social and economic factors, these people should be in a better position financially to enjoy retirement than any previous generation.

“But if you want to make adventurous life choices and have a more flexible approach to retirement, it requires careful planning.

“Younger generations should take note and make sure that they have enough income to enjoy their second adolescence.”

Yet the report highlights a significant knowledge gap when it comes to planning, as 42 per cent of respondents had no clear idea about how much income they would have in retirement.

Of the remainder, 44 per cent expected to receive an income less than £15,000 a year.

Only 14 per cent thought their pension savings would produce more than £15,000 a year.

A third were relying on their pension alone, with no other savings or investments. And 51 per cent admitted they could have been better prepared had they thought about planning sooner.

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