Retirement Money News

New analysis from Key has revealed that up to half of older homeowners are using equity release to repay debt as they struggle to meet payments. Analysis of customer data suggests that 30% of people are using equity release to repay unsecured debt while 20% are using it to repay mortgages.

Cambridge Building Society has launched its first retirement interest-only (RIO) mortgage .

On average, UK women will outlive their retirement savings by 12 years, while men will outlive them by 10 years, according to a recently published report by the World Economic Forum.

In its report, Investing In (and for) Our Future, the World Economic Forum warns that retirement savings will not be able to cover retiree’s lifespans and that women should prepare to bear the brunt of the shortfall, going without retirement savings for two years longer than their male counterparts. It also warns that retirement savers are currently too risk-averse in their retirement investments and that many young to middle-age savers should change their risk outlook, understanding that outliving their savings is a far greater risk to them than short-term investment risk.

Han Yik, Head of the Institutional Investors Industry, World Economic Forum, said: “The real risk people need to manage when investing in their future is the risk of outliving their retirement savings. As people are living longer, they must ensure they have enough retirement funds to last them through their longer lives. This requires investing with a long-term mindset earlier in life to increase total savings later on.”

The average weekly income of recent retirees is one fifth (20%) higher than that of older pensioners, according to Aegon’s analysis of the latest Government figures.

Analysing the data in the Pensioners’ Income Series published annually by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the net average weekly income (after tax, national insurance (NI) and council tax) of recently retired* pensioner households is £392, while the net average weekly income of non-recently retired pensioner households is £326. This represents a 20% difference between recent retirees and older pensioners.