Referendum induced uncertainty has made 19% of this year’s retirees more likely to seek financial advice.
According to research from Prudential, 14% of retirees are concerned about the impact of market ambiguity following the decision to leave the EU, and the consequential impact that may have on their pension. Over one in four are worried that if Brexit does negatively affect their retirement finances, the impact will be long-term.
Of those who responded to the survey, a third stated that the result of last year’s (2016) EU referendum has affected their retirement plans.
As a direct result of the referendum decision, just over one in ten (11%) of those who had made plans to retire during 2017 have now rescheduled. 6% of respondents even changed the country that they had originally planned to retire to.
Despite many retirees being affected by the referendum, the majority of those preparing to retire in 2017 (67%) have stated that the result had not impacted their retirement plans whatsoever. One in eight felt that the departure from the EU would be a positive for their retirement finances in the long-term.
Commenting on the data was Kirsty Anderson. The retirement expert at Prudential highlighted that despite the lack of superficial impact caused by Brexit, the result has caused uncertainty for many retirees.
“People planning to retire this year are expecting the highest retirement incomes since 2008 – so on the face of it, Brexit has had little impact on their retirement expectations. However, looking below the surface, there is a degree of uncertainty and nervousness among many of this year’s retirees.
“As you would expect, for many people who have been planning and saving for their retirement for most of their working lives, even the biggest of political upheavals won’t make a difference to their long-term plans. But with one in three new retirees telling us that their retirement plans have been affected by the referendum result, it is clear that uncertainty is having an impact for some.
“It is encouraging to see that faced with uncertainty, be it around the performance of their investments or where they plan to set up home after their working lives, the Class of 2017 are seeking professional financial advice. It is also important to remember that pension saving is for the long term and, irrespective of single events no matter how momentous, the best way for most people to provide for a comfortable retirement is to save as much as possible from as early as possible, into a pension.”
