Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Study finds fifth of over-40s fail to discuss retirement money plans with partners

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

MORE than one in five over-40s have never discussed their financial plans for retirement with their partner, a survey has found.

Women could be particularly put at risk from not discussing their later life plans – as one in 10 (10%) women expect to fully rely on their partner’s income when they retire, according to the research from Prudential.

The survey of more than 1,000 people aged 40 and over and who live with a spouse or partner found 22% had never talked with them about their financial plans for retirement.

Those who had discussed their retirement finances estimated that they will live on a joint annual retirement income averaging nearly £28,500.

But less than one in three (32%) people surveyed had made arrangements to ensure that if they died their other half would continue to receive an income from their pension.

Around three in five couples (62%) did not know how much annual income they were likely to receive as a couple when they were both retired and 18% did not know how much money their partner has in pension savings.

Some of those surveyed suggested the new pension freedoms had added to the confusion. The freedoms, which can be taken up by people aged over 55, were introduced last year to give savers a wider range of choices over what to do with their pension pot.

Just over one in 10 (11%) people surveyed believe that there are now too many retirement income choices and 38% are worried about making decisions that will lead to them running out of money in retirement.

Some 11% of people are also worried about falling victim to fraudsters stealing their pension money.

The Government-backed Pension Wise service offers guidance to people considering what to do with their pension pot.

Kirsty Anderson, a retirement income expert at Prudential, said: “Life is busy for everyone and it is tempting to avoid difficult conversations, but couples really do need to talk about their finances and retirement planning in particular.

“A conversation about what might happen to a couple’s finances if the worst should happen to one partner can be particularly difficult but it could make the difference between the survivor being left with nothing or having a comfortable retirement.

“Couples who don’t talk about their retirement finances may end up making plans separately and missing out on making the most of the pension saving tax relief available between them.

“They may also have unrealistic expectations of what their combined retirement savings are worth.”

Pensions minister Richard Harrington, said: “When it comes to planning ahead for a financially secure retirement, earlier is always better, and having a discussion with your spouse or partner about the pension provision you both have in place and the different options available is a really important part of that.”

He highlighted the free, impartial guidance on offer through the Pensions Advisory Service, which can answer general questions on pensions – and Pension Wise, which was set up to help people make the most of the new pension freedoms.


READ MORE

Pensions ‘time-bomb’: Ex-minister issues warning to savers making minimum contributions

Soaring demand for hotline that helps pensioners