Millions of workers are in danger of settling for a poorer retirement because they have given up believing they can ever enjoy a comfortable life after work, a pensions firm has warned.
PensionBee says too many people fail to picture themselves enjoying retirement at all, leaving them less motivated to save for the future and more likely to put off planning for later life. The warning comes as millions face growing pressure over retirement savings, with rising living costs, longer life expectancy and uncertainty over pension incomes forcing many to rethink when – or even if – they can afford to stop working.
Research commissioned by the online pension provider found travel and hobbies are the biggest retirement ambitions, with 64% of people saying they hope to spend more time pursuing both. Nearly half (49%) want to spend more time with friends and family, while 47% hope to enjoy more sport and fitness.
The findings have prompted PensionBee to launch a new campaign, Born to Retire, aimed at encouraging workers to think more positively about later life and start planning sooner.
Rather than focusing on financial worries, the campaign highlights the opportunities retirement could bring – from touring Britain in a campervan and taking up new hobbies to spending more time with loved ones.
Jasper Martens, Chief Marketing Officer at PensionBee, said too many people simply assumed a fulfilling retirement was beyond their reach.
He said: “Everyone deserves a retirement they can look forward to. But too often, people don’t see themselves in that picture. They assume a great retirement is for somebody else – somebody richer, luckier or somehow better prepared.
“We wanted to challenge that thinking. Retirement shouldn’t be something people avoid imagining because it feels out of reach. It should be a future worth getting excited about. Building financial security isn’t the end goal, it’s what gives you the freedom to become more of who you are.
“Born to Retire is about joy and helping people picture that future with optimism. Because when you believe retirement is really for you, planning for it stops feeling like an obligation and starts feeling like an investment in the life you want to live.”
The campaign, created with creative agency Wildish & Co, will run across television, radio, digital and outdoor advertising. It features younger people catching a glimpse of their future retirement before fast-forwarding to their older selves embracing life, with oversized visual scenes inspired by real retirement aspirations uncovered in consumer research.
The launch comes at a time when retirement planning is becoming increasingly important for millions of Brits.
Experts regularly warn that relying solely on the State Pension is unlikely to provide the lifestyle many people expect in retirement, making workplace pensions and private savings an increasingly vital source of income.
PensionBee, which was founded in 2014, manages around £8.6 billion of pension assets on behalf of approximately 325,000 customers. The company allows customers to combine multiple pension pots into a single online account managed through its app.
