Brits believe 22 years is the right length for a retirement

British adults at or approaching pension age believe that people should spend an average of 22 years in retirement, according to a new survey from Towry, the wealth adviser.

Towry’s research also found that on average Britons think they will require £25,875 per year (net of tax) or £29,844 gross at current tax rates to maintain a comfortable standard of living in retirement; which would amount to a total of £656,568 gross over a 22 year period (ignoring inflation).

Yet currently only 27% of workers aged 50+ stated they feel fully in control of their finances, and a further 30% of 50-59 year olds admitted they need to consider their future finances more.

Andy James, head of retirement planning, Towry said: “In order to maintain an existing lifestyle in what will hopefully be a lengthy retirement period, many people may need to commit more of their current income to pension savings.

“While the sheer scale of what is needed to provide a comfortable standard of living during retirement may shock some people, what is clear is that the state pension will only go so far. Acting on the assumption of a current 63 year old man who will start receiving the £144 per week single-tier state pension in 2016 (aged 65) the state would only provide £164,736 over 22 years (ignoring inflation). This would leave £491,832 which needs to be generated from pension and other savings.

“Those who have planned well for their long-term financial future will be much better placed to choose when they retire, and be confident they have built up savings to last throughout their retirement lifetime.

“A structured financial plan will allow people to consider financial targets for the future and demonstrate how to achieve them, providing peace of mind and the blueprint for a long and comfortable retirement.”