Planning your retirement is the single biggest reason for seeking advice

At a glance

• Retirement planning is the nation’s single biggest reason for seeking financial advice.
• One in three over-44s will actively seek advice on planning retirement in the next six months.
• Retirement planning often comes too late, with only one in 10 (12%) Gen Zs and one in five (18%) Millennials making it their priority.
• SJP analysis finds that just a five-year delay in starting a pension could result in £67,000 less for your retirement².
• Financial advice can be transformational in achieving a comfortable, stress-free retirement.

One in three (30%) of over 44s will seek advice on retirement planning in the next six months, according to Chapter Five of SJP’s Real Life Advice Report: Advice Priorities,¹ placing it above general investment and savings advice (17%) and budgeting (15%). But for Millennials and Gen Zs, it’s a much lower priority. The Report, which surveyed just under12,000 UK adults, also reveals that many of us aren’t prioritising planning our retirements until we’re 55.

Against a changing retirement landscape, the chapter underlines the importance of starting your retirement planning as early as possible.

Key findings

• One in five people will be seeking advice on their retirement planning in the next six months.
• Retirement planning advice is twice as important as investment and savings advice for those aged 44 and above.
• 55 years old is the peak age to start planning retirement – which may be too late to achieve long-held ambitions.
• SJP analysis finds just a five-year delay in starting pension investments can seriously reduce your pension pot at retirement.

Advice priorities and the generation gap

The chapter finds that each generation has a different set of priorities that drive the desire to seek financial advice. When we’re starting out, retirement planning is a distant dot on the horizon, and getting our day-to-day finances in order (possibly for the first time in our lives) is uppermost in our minds. one in four (26%) of GenZ (18-27) said they’d need advice on better budgeting in the next six months – and only 12% had thought about asking for advice on retirement planning at this point.

This trend continues through the Millennial generation – aged 28-43 – who also put better budgeting in first place (22%). But once we’re over the age of 44, one in three of us prioritise planning a financially secure retirement above everything else.

“Our retirement futures rest in our own hands more than ever – and advice can be transformational.”

Claire Trott, Divisional Director of Retirement and Holistic Planning, St. James's Place

Is retirement planning coming ‘too little, too late?’?

Whilst retirement planning is the top advice priority, the chapter reveals that the ‘peak age’ for seeking support is 55 years old. This may directly impact the amount of income people have in later life.

Our recent analysis indicates that if a 30-year-old made a gross investment of £5,000 each year into a pension scheme, they’d have a projected fund of £268,000 available at the age of 60². Waiting until they were 35 to start saving into a pension could mean a £67,000 reduction to their retirement fund. And a fifteen-year delay, starting contributions at age 45, could bring it down it by £169,000:² The net result? Less money to spend in retirement, and less money to pass on to the next generation. Coupled with recent changes around IHT and pensions announced in the October Budget, delaying retirement planning may impact both Millennials and Gen Zs too.

“The retirement landscape is unrecognisable to what it was only twenty years ago,” says Claire Trott, Divisional Director of Retirement and Holistic Planning, St. James's Place. “And the key decision is when we start making worthwhile investments.”

“Given there are many other financial pressures today, it’s important to make good decisions about the money you’ve got, and it may be worth seeking advice or guidance to support decision making.”

“It’s clear the retirement choices for the next generation will be different and more difficult,” Claire continues. “Putting money aside for the future has to be seen as a necessary expense and pension contributions an integral part of budgeting.“

“Financial advice can be transformational in helping people across the country navigate that change so they can achieve the post-work life they are looking for.”

“More than ever, our retirement futures rest in our own hands.“

What is the Real Life Advice Report?

Opinium surveyed just under 12,000 UK adults nationwide in two polls between May and August 2024 on behalf of SJP. The survey – our largest consumer survey to date – is based on interviews and real life stories exploring the value of financial advice, our attitudes surrounding it, and its future.

Chapter Six

The final part of our Real Life Advice Report will be released in December 2024.

What have I missed?

You can read Chapters one to five of The Real Life Advice Report here.

We can help you

See how we can help you plan for the later life you deserve, get in touch today.

Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

The value of a St. James's Place investment will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can, therefore, go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.

We have looked at the impact of all forms of financial advice and guidance. From professional advice received through a financial advice firm or individual including a wealth manager, an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA), a qualified financial planner, and advice received through a bank and building society. We have also looked more broadly at understanding the impact of the help people receive through organisations such as Citizen’s Advice, Pension Wise and others.

Sources

¹The Real Life Advice Report was commissioned by St. James's Place. Opinium surveyed just under 12,000 UK adults nationwide in two polls between May and August 2024.  Quotas and post-weighting were applied to the sample to make the dataset representative of the UK adult  population. Quantative data referenced is sourced from the first poll which had a total sample of 7,995 respondents. Survey included those aged 18-34 (1,940), aged 35-54 (2,654) & aged 55 and over (3,401).
²Calculations assume an average annual investment growth before charges of 4.60% each year and investment charges of 1.96% each year. Contributions are invested on the same day each year in a pension and are shown before charges are taken into account. These figures are examples only and they are not guaranteed  - they are not minimum and maximum amounts. What you get back depends on how your investment grows and the tax treatment of the investment. You could get back more or less than this.

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