New analysis from insurance experts, SunLife, suggests that almost 7 million people over 50 have no private pension, putting them at risk of poverty in retirement. SunLife’s second annual Life Well Spent report shows that around 2.4 million (20%) of men over 50 and 4.4 million (33%) women are relying on the State Pension alone to fund their retirement. The full, New State Pension increased by 8.5 per cent on April 8, to £221.
20 per week, but SunLife said it still falls well short of what is needed for pensioners to get by, let alone live well in retirement. In February, Retirement Living Standards updated its calculations for what an individual needs for a ‘minimum standard of living’ in retirement, from an annual income of £12,800 to one of £14,400. Even on the previous calculations, those living on the State Pension alone were more than £2,000 short of achieving their basic needs in retirement, even when the increase is taken into account, the hike in living costs means they will be almost £3,000 short - £55 a week. SunLife added that with more than a quarter (27%) of over 50s relying on the state pension alone, this puts almost 7 million people at risk of retirement poverty. SunLife’s research found that, of those over 50s who have no private pension savings, nine in ten (92%) admit to being worried about money