Financial provision in retirement is expected to become a greater issue as life expectancy rises and the shape of the UK population changes, yet almost six out of ten Britons are not confident they will have enough money in retirement – according to a nationwide survey* conducted by Club Vita, the longevity comparison club. One third of those surveyed believe that poor retirement provision will reduce their life expectancy.

The Club Vita poll also finds that only one in 20 Brits are very confident that they have put enough money aside for their golden years. Nearly half of all those surveyed are relying on their own personal efforts to provide financial support for their retirement. But just 13 percent say their company pension scheme will have the single, most positive effect on their comfort in retirement.

Main findings from the Club Vita poll:

• One-third believe their life expectancy will be shortened by poor retirement income
• A higher number, 56 percent, believe stress will affect how long they live
• More than half lack confidence that they’ve set aside enough for retirement
• Younger workers are the least confident, particularly those aged 25 to 35

Nick Flint, Chief Executive of Club Vita, said: “Many people believe poor retirement provision could shorten their lives and in a sense they are right, since personal wealth has an important influence on how long we live. Club Vita’s own analysis of one million people receiving company pensions shows that those who are more affluent – whether by salary earnings or retirement income – live longer. Men retiring on a salary of more than £35,000 typically live four years longer than those earning below £15,000 a year. However, it’s worth noting that having a higher salary is not the same as having made ample provision for retirement.  And having a small pension from a single scheme isn’t always the same as having made poor provision for retirement.

“Our nationwide poll shows clearly that the public are in tune with several of the factors that influence longevity, but are pension trustees? Economic conditions are weakening and interest rates have fallen to their lowest since 1694. For pension schemes, this means the cost of living longer has become more expensive. Each additional year of life expectancy results in additional costs of around £15m for a typical £500m fund. This is the rationale for creating Club Vita, a genuinely revolutionary approach to managing longevity risk.  Club members – major UK private and public pension schemes – will now be able to measure and monitor longevity more precisely so that they can better manage the longevity risk within their schemes.”

Notes to Editors

*The research for Club Vita was carried out online by Opinion Matters/Tickbox.net between 13/11/2008 and 19/11/2008 amongst a nationally representative sample of 1815 UK adults aged 16+.