The new report by Friends Provident, Visions of Britain 2020: Ageing and Retirement, polled 1,200 individuals across the UK to take the temperature of the nation and gauge its views towards retirement.
When asked at what age they think they will retire, it was found that the average worker expected to retire at 67 years of age. Conversely, when asked what age they would like to retire, the average response was 62.2 – meaning a 4.8 year gap between the age at which people would like to retire and the age they think they will actually retire.
The findings also demonstrate varied expectations when it comes to the length of working life across the country, with people in Nottingham expecting to retire the latest (aged 68.4). People in Birmingham and Wales expect to retire at 65.6, before the new default retirement age, whilst people in Leeds say 66.8 and Scots say 66.4.
Trevor Matthews, CEO Friends Provident Holdings (UK) said: "It is interesting to compare the various levels of awareness about later life across the country, and it is clear that people are more accepting of the fact that they will have to work longer.
“As individuals we now have more choices, but coupled with this comes increased responsibility and the need to plan adequately for retirement. It is crucial that we do this planning early enough in life whilst we have more options available to us rather than waiting until we reach our mid 60s when the only stark choices might be to keep working into our 70s or accept a lower than expected standard of living in retirement."
