A fraction over half of UK workers (52%) say they are confident about their ability to retire comfortably – a slight increase on 2017 when it was 48%.

That’s according to new research by Aegon, published in their Retirement Confidence Survey, which also reveals the other worrying stats that:

• 10% don’t have any pension savings
• 25% of those with pension savings don’t know how much they hold in pensions
• 36% have never estimated their income needs for retirement

Steven Cameron, Pensions Director at Aegon, comments: “There have been lots of positive stories such as the success of automatic enrolment and the new retirement flexibilities under pension freedoms. All of this has contributed to raising the profile of retirement planning, leading to people taking more interest and action, improving the confidence people have when it comes to being able to retire comfortably.

“But we must remain realistic. Overconfidence carries risks and people mustn’t be lulled into a false sense of security. While auto-enrolment means millions of employees are saving more for retirement, that doesn’t mean they’re on target for the retirement they aspire to or to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living.

“Furthermore, the growing population of self-employed are excluded from auto-enrolment and can’t rely on an employer to support their retirement funding. Realistically, there’s a lot more required to make sure you’ve saved enough for the retirement you would like.

“Whatever your age or circumstances, finding out more about your pension funds and prospects can only be a good thing.”

Aegon’s top six tips to building retirement confidence

• Act now, make a plan and start saving.

The more savings you have, the more choice you have at retirement. So work out how much money you might need when you retire. A good place to start is by basing your financial needs in retirement on your current lifestyle and adapting it to suit the “retired” you. There are online tools available to help you do this or for a personalised picture, seek financial advice.

• Patience could pay – retire later

Think carefully about your planned retirement age. You may have 60 or 65 fixed in your mind, but being flexible may give you more time to build up enough savings so that you can actually enjoy your retirement in comfort and not be forced to scrimp too much.

For some, working beyond ‘traditional’ retirement age could be the answer to making up a shortfall in pension savings.

• Get the full picture

Check your state pension entitlement and state pension age. This way you’ll know exactly how much you can expect to receive and from when. This will help you work out how much extra you need to save yourself in a pension. Get a State pension forecast online https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension or ring the Future Pensions Centre helpline on 0345 3000 168.

• Keep track of old pension pots

Multiple jobs with different companies means that a lot of people now have more than one pension and it has become easy to lose track of some pension savings. If you’re not sure whether an old job came with a pension then it’s definitely worth checking. The government offers a pension tracing service which can be found here www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details

• Review your investments

It’s important to keep track of how the investments within your pension fund are performing and assess whether you might be better off moving to a different investment fund. You might want to consider an investment approach that’s more tailored to your needs. Investment can be daunting for some people but it’s a topic financial advisers can help with.

• Get professional advice

Planning a retirement income and when to start taking it requires careful consideration and a financial adviser can provide tailored advice to meet your personal needs and circumstances. You can find an adviser through www.unbiased.co.uk

• We would like to add a point  – If you haven’t already done so, check out RetireEasy.co.uk so that you can readily see if all of you planning will result in your finances lasting long enough in retirement and if you will be able to afford the lifestyle you aspire to. It only costs £4.99 per month for the Classic LifePlan and you can cancel at any time.

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