Martin Lewis’s Money Saving Expert has shared a “rule of thumb” to achieving a comfortable retirement, as new research reveals widespread uncertainty about pensions.
The study by Hargreaves Lansdown found that one in five adults are unaware of how much money is being contributed to their pension, leaving many unsure of their retirement outlook.
To address this issue, savers may find Money Saving Expert’s (MSE) tip as helpful guidance to become more engaged and plan their contributions more effectively.
MSE wrote: “There’s a rule of thumb for what to contribute for a comfortable retirement.
“Take the age you start a pension and halve it. Then aim to put this % of your pre-tax salary into your pension each year until you retire.”
For example, an individual who starts saving aged 32 could contribute 16% of their salary for the rest of their working life to achieve this.
However, the money gurus pointed out: “Almost nobody reaches this amount, but the real takeaway is start as early as possible with whatever you can, as you’ve longer for the gains to compound.”
It then suggested people consider using a pension calculator, such as Money Helper’s for a more accurate forecast.
If it becomes apparent that people are not on track for where they’d like to be, Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis, Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) said: “You can model the impact of putting extra money in.”
Ms Morrissey continued: “Planning for retirement is one of the most important things you can do and yet one in five people have no idea how much they are contributing to their pension.
“If you don’t know what’s going in then you won’t know what you are going to get out of your pension and so we risk people sleepwalking into retirement with nowhere near enough to meet their needs.”
Recent data from HL’s Savings and Resilience Barometer puts the cost of a moderate retirement income at £25,000 per year for a single person.
Ms Morrissey added: “Having an idea of what you want your retirement to look like can help you get a sense of how much you need to get there.”
