Nomadic retirement as living costs soar

A major study by SAGA Home Insurance mapping and analysing retirement trends in the UK has revealed that the euphoria of retirement is often short-lived as people are forced to face up to the need to move home and downsize in order to achieve living costs in line with their new income. The findings, from the second in a series of SAGA reports examining the retirement landscape in the UK, revealed that one in ten retirees move house more than once in retirement.

Forced to downsize

The study of retirees and those soon to retire, by home insurance experts SAGA, revealed that 31% of all retired people have moved area at least once since they stopped working. This is in contrast to less than one in ten (8%) people facing retirement who are definitely intending to move. The contrast indicates that dreams of a settled retirement are soon thwarted as retired people face the reality of soaring living costs and the fact that they haven't fully prepared for the change in their income post retirement.

Prior to retirement, only 20% of people are looking for a cheaper cost of living from their retirement destination, however, when they stop working, priorities change. Among those yet to finish work, peace and quiet (45%), good shopping facilities (37%), a friendly neighbourhood (36%) and good healthcare facilities (29%) top the list of requirements when deciding where to live once they stop working. However, on retirement these dreams change with the top reason for moving being replaced with the need to downsize. Over a third (35%) of retired people have moved in retirement when they had not intended to in order to own a smaller property.

Those who do not appear to have adequately planned for retirement and have found their income to be less than expected are, unsurprisingly, most likely to find themselves faced with having to move house. 37% of people who report that they have not been able to afford their retirement plans, and 38% of those whose financial situation in retirement is worse than they expected, moved purely to reduce their cost of living.

Nomadic Retirement

As well as more people being forced to move when they hadn't intended to, the report also reveals the shocking reality of the number of times people have to move in retirement. Over one in ten (11%) of retired people have had to move more than once during their retirement and, for those recently retired or who retired early, the nomadic lifestyle is set to continue for years to come. 5% of retirees in their fifties (those who took early retirement) have already moved five or more times. Plus, the more times retirees move, the greater distance they travel. The average distance travelled in a first move is 69miles which almost doubles to 132miles by the time of the fourth move.

Andrew Goodsell, Chief Executive of Saga comments "Retirement should be an opportunity for people to enjoy pursuits that they have dreamt of throughout their working life, but had little time to fulfil. It is a worrying trend that these aspirations of a settled retirement are being ruined by the need to downsize. "

Being forced into a position where you have to economise and potentially move from the family home can be a stressful experience. This is why Saga's Home Insurance offers customers dual property cover of up to eight weeks as standard and cover for their contents if they are lost or damaged, having been professionally packed and carried when they move. Saga also urges those who do downsize not to cut costs on Home insurance.

For more information on Saga Home Insurance visit saga.co.uk/home.