Results from the second Hargreaves Lansdown Savings and Resilience Barometer, produced with Oxford Economics, have thrown up a very mixed picture for the generations looking to retire in the future, with some Baby Boomers on the cusp of retirement facing a real crunch time as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite. The main findings which will affect their retirement planning are:

• 1% of Baby Boomer households aged below 65 and coming up to retirement are meeting the PLSA’s target for a moderate retirement income.
• This is higher than the UK average (42.6%) but lower than the Generation X (born between 1980 and 1965) household average of 46.9%.
• When it comes to having surplus income at the end of the month this group lags the average (50.5%) with only 46.6% having money left over.
• Soaring energy bills could derail people’s retirement planning leading many older workers to delay retirement.
• The PLSA standards say a single person would need a retirement income of £20,800 per year to achieve a moderate standard of living, while a couple would need £30,600.

The HL Savings and Resilience Barometer looks at how the financial fortunes of those Baby Boomers aged under 65 stack up against those of younger generations – particularly how this will inpact their retirement planning. Baby Boomers fare slightly better than average… but not by much: only 43.1% compared with 42.6% of households overall are on track for a moderate income and as their retirement years creep ever closer they are running out of time to get on track. And the current cost of living crisis is only making things harder.

Looking more widely, pre-retirement Baby Boomer households also have an issue when it comes to surplus income at the end of the month. With only 46.6% having adequate income left every month they lag the average (50.5%) as well as Generation X households who are much more resilient (54.9%).

With inflation continuing to soar, the UK is already seeing some older workers deciding to remain in the workforce for longer than initially planned in order to ensure their retirement plans are on course.

Another finding is that Baby Boomer households are much more likely to have life insurance than their younger counterparts – a whopping 78.6% compared with 48.8% of Generation X and just 31% of Millennial households. However, they do lag when it comes to other types of insurance such as income protection and critical illness.

Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown says: “There is a lot of discussion about how the Baby Boomer generation have a better financial deal than those who came after them. They are more likely to retire with a final salary pension and to have benefited from the enormous house price inflation we have seen over the years. Many are sitting on a great deal of wealth.

“However, that certainly isn’t the case for everyone.

“Many have retired with generous pensions; but given they have worked the majority of their careers in the pre-auto-enrolment world there are also those facing retirement with little, if any, pension wealth. Similarly, not everyone has been able to get on the housing ladder and so go through retirement either still paying off a mortgage or needing to find the money for rent: it’s an enormous expense that really affects overall financial resilience.”

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