In this blog post, Jane Vass, Head of Public Policy at Age UK, discusses the secret to a sustainable retirement income.
Continue reading “Health, wealth + the pursuit of happiness = a sustainable retirement income”
Tag: Financial Services Commission
Financial resilience in later life
Yesterday, Age UK launched a new report, Financial resilience in later life, which calls for regular financial check-ups for the retired and people approaching pension age. Age UK believes that these check-ups are critical to help the growing number of people aged 60 and over navigate later life.
Financial resilience as we approach retirement: is it too late to save?
This question was the starting point of Age UK’s first Financial Services Commission summit event on 6th December. It arose from forthcoming Age UK research which suggests that although those coming up to retirement are often seen as a wealthy and resilient generation, all but the most affluent face considerable challenges, and there is a widely prevalent feeling of uncertainty which deters saving.
The Commission – jointly chaired by Tom Wright, CEO of Age UK and Dr Alexander Scott CEO of the Chartered Insurance Institute – was set up to examine how to improve financial resilience in later life.
At the event (hosted by BlackRock, the investment management firm) Tom challenged senior figures from the financial services industry, consumer and regulatory organisations to give their recipe for improving financial resilience among the group approaching retirement. The debate ranged between those who feel we need to build trust in the financial services industry and those who pointed to supply-side failures. So far, so unsurprising. But there was a new mood of optimism and – dare I say it – realism. Continue reading “Financial resilience as we approach retirement: is it too late to save?”
Age UK establishes commission on financial services
We are “woefully underprepared” for our ageing society. That was the conclusion of the House of Lords Select Committee chaired by Lord Filkin earlier in the year.
Central to that is the fact that people just aren’t saving enough for retirement and their later life. New polling Age UK commissioned found that just under a quarter of people aged 50-64 – those rapidly approaching state pension age – think there’s no point saving. Worryingly, that’s not because the majority have
already made provision for their future. More than a quarter said they were worried about having enough to live on. Only 15 per cent thought they had saved enough already.
We also frequently hear from older people about the problems they face with money matters, and the lack of solutions that really work for older people. While auto-enrolment is a massive step forward, it will not have time to reap its full benefits for people close to retirement.
That’s why we’re launching the Financial Services Commission – which will be co-chaired by Tom Wright CEO of Age UK and Dr Alexander Scott of the Chartered Insurance Institute. Launching on December 5th, it will be take the form of a series of three summits in which we will work with key industry leaders and consumer experts to examine how to improve the “financial resilience” of older people – their ability to weather the challenges that might lie ahead. It will culminate in June next year with the publication of a roadmap of actions that regulators, government and industry need to take to help keep future and current pensioners financially resilient. Continue reading “Age UK establishes commission on financial services”
