AEGON: Reinventing the retirement cliff edge

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has issued new research showing that Britons are feeling less than happy about retirement.

The research asked 1000 over 55 year olds how they felt waking up on the first day of retirement. Less than half said 'happy', less than a third said 'relaxed' and under a quarter said 'free'. The research also asked what people would miss most about work; the top three answers were work friends, being challenged, and office humour and gossip.

Rachel Vahey, head of pensions development, says: “Retirement is an area of life that is fast changing, and the Government needs to keep up-to-date with how people feel about retirement and their experiences. Advisers and the industry have a challenge to try to make the retirement process as easy as possible. But the Government also has a role to play in reviewing the tax rules for decumulation products - like annuities and unsecured pension - to make sure these products can provide income retirement solutions that actually match people's needs in retirement."

"The research clearly points out that retirement is a tremendous milestone in all our lives. People naturally feel a little apprehensive swapping their current lives for a brand new one. As the population continue to live longer, I think it will become natural that people will try to merge their two lives, and retirement will become a transition with people choosing to work for longer.”