Brits become more realistic in their retirement expectations

A new study by leading retirement solutions provider, Lincoln Financial Group paints a bleak picture of retirement as it reveals what UK adults now expect to be able to afford when they retire.

A quarter of Brits (26%) expect to be able to have the funds for just one holiday a year during their retirement, with only six per cent thinking they will be able to afford a trip around the world in their twilight years. The dream of having a second home is also now a distant pipe dream with only four per cent believing they will have enough money for this.

Surprisingly, over a third of Brits (35%) expect they will need less than £20,000 a year to fund their retirement. Only four per cent say they think they would need over £50,000 to fund their ideal retirement lifestyle.

Out of reach: the luxuries that few people now expect to afford include:

A new home (only 6 per cent)
Luxury cruise (only 5 per cent)
A cleaner (only 5 per cent)
A second home (only 4 per cent)
A personal trainer (only 2 per cent)

Instead, people are now anticipating they will only be able to afford the simple things in life. Treating family and friends with presents tops the list of what most people expect to be able to afford, followed by spending more on an existing hobby (26%).
Simon O'Connor, Head of Products and Marketing at Lincoln Financial Group, said: "Long gone are the days when people expected to be able to head off into the sunset for the trip of a lifetime once retired. These days it's all about the simple luxuries such as learning new hobbies and generally making do with what you can - all on home turf.

For those retirees wanting to spend more time on a hobby the most popular activities are walking (14%) and gardening (13%) with the more active pastimes like football and horse riding far less popular in later years.

Walking (14 per cent)
Gardening (13 per cent)
Photography (8 per cent)
Cooking (9 per cent)
Golf (5 per cent)

When it comes to the most popular holiday destinations in retirement, people favour English speaking countries such as Australia (16%), New Zealand (15%) and North America (12%) rather than more exotic locations such as South East Asia (4%) and China (3%), which are far less popular choices.

Surprisingly, five per cent of the population say they don't want to go on holiday at all when they retire - instead they think they will prefer to stay at home. Northerners are far more likely to be home-birds than Southerners, with eight per cent of those living in the North saying they don't want to go on holiday when they retire versus only three per cent of Londoners.

Simon adds: "Our study reveals that there is a definite trend for people tightening their belts and becoming more realistic in their expectations when it comes to their retirement years. However people do have options to maximise their retirement income and we would advise that people seek financial advice to work out a retirement plan that will suit their individual circumstances and help provide them with an income for life. With Lincoln i2Live, retirees can protect their retirement income levels while maintaining a level of security with the unique Lincoln i2Live Income Guarantee Option."