23 Jul 2024

Scottish Widows research: Retirement Report 2024

Now in its 20th year, the Scottish Widows Retirement Report has kept track of the nation’s attitudes towards saving for a pension and its hopes and expectations for the future

The Scottish Widows Retirement Report uses the National Retirement Forecast (NRF) to examine all major aspects of retirement preparations to define what it means to save for a comfortable retirement. This is based on the Pension and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA)’s retirement living standards to assess the kind of lifestyle that people will be able to afford.

It shines the spotlight on different groups and communities across the UK and looks to the future by setting out several policy proposals.

Key findings:

There is a growing polarisation between those whose wages have been able to keep up with the cost of living and those whose have not.
There is also a growing polarisation between those who are currently in retirement and those who are thinking about what retirement might look like in the future.
Many future retirees struggle to save more – only 42% of people felt they had the headroom, above day-to-day pressures, to save anything for retirement.
Many don’t know how much to save or what their options are.