Pension News Pension Worries Worsen As Interest Rates Remain Low

Written by Editorial Team
13 August 2009 / by Rebecca Sargent

Seven in 10 people who are nearing retirement are now feeling more concerned about their retirement income than they were a year ago, research from LV= has revealed.

A turbulent environment of low interest rates and poor job security has caused increased concerns over pension income as 51 per cent of ‘near retirees’ said they are specifically disturbed by the reduced income that their retirement savings will buy them.

Nevertheless, despite increased concerns, just 21 per cent of over 50s have sought pension advice from an independent financial adviser (IFA), while very few shop around for annuities or alternative retirement funding options, such as equity release.

As a result, LV= has joined the decumulation action group set up between industry experts to address the growing pension decumulation crisis. Commenting, head of annuities at LV= Matt Trott said:

“To this end, we fully support the new industry-wide management group formed to tackle this growing crisis, and will play an active role, both in sharing insights and ideas and in pushing for concrete solutions to the specific challenges we identify.”

The research from LV= found that a quarter of over 50s are expecting to rely entirely on the basic state pension in retirement, while almost half are expecting an income shortfall.

Meanwhile, as interest rates remain at record lows, 61 per cent of over 50s are concerned that their savings are not growing enough – this rises to 82 per cent among the over 65s.

© Fair Investment Company Ltd