Retirement savings shortfall revealed

According to a new survey, people in the UK expect to spend 19 years in retirement, but believe they will only have enough money to last them for seven.

British workers are less optimistic about their savings lasting them through retirement than people in other countries, with many predicting they'll never be able to fully retire.

Workers in 15 countries - including the US, China, Australia, Canada, France and Hong Kong - were surveyed for the report commissioned by HSBC.

People generally expect their savings to see them through the first 10 years of retirement, with the typical American worker predicting they won't run out for 14 years.

The Future of Retirement report also found the downbeat expectation among UK workers was at odds with those who have already stopped working and expect their savings to last an average of 13 years.

The six-year generational gap in UK expectations was the largest found, with workers in China, India, Brazil and Taiwan expecting to eke out their retirement savings for longer than their parents.

Meanwhile, nearly a fifth (19%) of the UK workers polled believe they'll never have enough savings put by to enable them to stop working altogether.

Government aiming to avert retirement 'savings crisis'

Among Britons who are divorced or separated, over a third (36%) said they thought they'd never be able to afford to fully retire, compared with an average of 20% of those taking part in the global survey - which also covered Egypt, Mexico, Singapore, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. Almost a third (31%) of widowed UK workers are similarly pessimistic compared with the overall global average of 23%.

HSBC's head of wealth management, Christine Foyster, said: 'People want to slow down in later life and, while some welcome the chance to stay economically active, many may not.'

The Government is aiming to avert a potential retirement savings crisis, caused by people living longer and private pension saving falling to a record low, by automatically enrolling employees in workplace pensions.

The process began last autumn with larger firms. So far, around a million people have been placed into workplace pensions.

Copyright Press Association 2013