As part of this debate LV= shares the findings from their quarterly Wealth and Wellbeing research programme, which surveys a nationally representative sample of 4,000 adults across the UK on a variety of topics, including their changing attitude to their finances and their wider wellbeing.

1. If only I had …
16 October 2023
LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Programme
Retirement Planning Insights

2. 2
LV= Wealth and Wellbeing
Research Programme

3. Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme
3
Running since June 2020
We have built a robust long term study tracking UK personal finances over the
past 3 years:
Quarterly study of 4,000 nationally representative UK adults
Tracking key indices covering spending, saving and financial situation
asked every wave
Deep dive topics explored across wide range of areas including
attitudes to retirement planning
Our insights are publicly available with a report published every
quarter and a dedicated online hub hosted on LV.com
LV.com/wealth-and-wellbeing
Source: LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme

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Key indices
Tracking key spending, saving and financial situation over time
Source: LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme

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LV= Wellbeing Tracker
Measuring financial resilience over time
Our latest data from June 2023, shows a small increase in the LV= Wellness Tracker after historic lows in Dec 2022 and Mar 2023 of +15
Source: LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme
LV= Wellness Tracker

6. 6
Correlation with economic metrics
We have used regression analysis to compare our
data with key economic metrics
In our recent reports we have shown examples of where our data
closely correlates with other economic trackers, for example:
Our data on consumers’ worries about money closely tracks the
ONS CPIH annual rate
Our outgoings index also tracks CPIH closely
Our increase in savings data closely matches the ONS household
savings ratio
Source: LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme

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Exploring Retirement Planning

8. 8
Over a third of current retirees retired before the age of 60
Men were more likely to have retired before the age of 60 than women
35% of the retired people that we surveyed retired before they
turned 60.
A further 38% retired before 65.
Only 28% retired at 65 or older.
42% of the retired mass affluent people (those with assets of
between £100,000 and £500,000 excluding property) retired
before they turned 60.
We found that men were more likely than women to retire
before they were 60.
6% 8%
21%
38%
24%
4%
Under 50 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70 or over
Age at retirement
35%
38%
32%
37%
19%
All retirees Male Female Own property
outright
Renting
Retired before age 60
Source: LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme

9. 9
A third of retirees retired earlier than originally planned
The majority retired as planned with 1 in 10 saying they retired later than planned
Just over half of current retirees, retired at the time they
expected to with the rest retiring earlier or later than planned.
Those who were more likely than average to have retired early:
Had used a financial adviser
Had more than £10,000 of personal savings
Owned their property
This suggests that some of those retiring early are doing so
because they can afford to.
Source: LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme
33%
57%
10%
Retired earlier or later than planned?
Earlier than planned As planned Later than planned

10. 10
Many retired early due to something unexpected
We asked more detail on why people retired when they did
For those who retired before age 60, just under a third said they
could afford to (31%).
Many others who retired before 60 did so due to something
unexpected e.g. ill health (25%), mental health (20%),
redundancy (19%), or to care for a relative (9%).
For those with higher levels of savings, their most common
reasons for retiring were that they could afford to retire and they
didn’t want to work anymore.
Reaching state retirement age was the top reason for retiring for
renters, those with low savings and for women.
Pension savers need to be aware that they might have less time
than they’d thought to save for retirement, as many people end
up having to retire unexpectedly early.
Source: LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme
31%
28%
25%
20%
19%
13%
12%
9%
8%
7%
3%
2%
23%
30%
11%
12%
10%
15%
7%
7%
9%
5%
6%
39%
Could afford to retire then
Didn’t want to work anymore
Ill health/ injury made me unable to work
To reduce stress/improve my mental health
Redundancy/ job loss
Reached personal/ employee pension
retirement age
Didn’t like my boss/management/colleagues
To care for my partner/parent who was in ill
health
Partner/spouse was retiring
Other (Please specify)
To help care for my grandchildren
Reached state retirement age
Why did you retire from work?
Retired aged under 60
Retired aged 60 or over

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Only half of retirees worked out how much money they might
need in retirement before they retired
Source: LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme
52% 43% 36%
Worked out how much
money they might need in
retirement
Researched retirement
income options before they
retired
Spoke to a financial adviser
about retirement

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Among retirees that had taken action, many left it close to
retirement age
Two thirds had not taken action until they were into their 50s or older.
This may leave little time to make changes if at this point if their plans are not on track.
Source: LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme
32%
22%
19% 19%
6%
1%
Under 50 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70 or over
Age first looked at how much was saved
in pension(s)
27% 25% 25%
17%
6%
1%
Under 50 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70 or over
Age first worked out how much money
might be needed in retirement

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Current consumer context

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30% of retirees are currently struggling financially
Source: LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme
6% 65% 26%
I’m very comfortable
4%
How would you describe your current financial situation?
I’m struggling a bit
I’m comfortable I’m struggling a lot
At the time of our research the cost of living increases were putting pressure on retirees’ finances:
30% of retirees currently describe their financial situation as “struggling”.
Retirees were spending £914 on essential monthly outgoings, such as mortgage/rent, food, utility bills or council tax.
Roughly a third (36%) of the retirees we surveyed said they are relying on state pension alone to fund their retirement.
We also found in our June research that 29% of retirees have helped friends/family financially in the past 6 months.
Women were more likely than men to describe their financial situation as “struggling”.

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9% of retirees downsized to help fund their retirement
Many retirees are using the value of their homes to help fund their retirement.
9% of retirees had downsized to help fund their retirement, and a further 7% are considering downsizing.
5% took out a lifetime mortgage to help fund their retirement and 3% are considering taking out one.
Source: LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme
9%
7%
5%
3%
I have downsized to help fund
my retirement
I’ve considered downsizing to
help fund my retirement, but
haven’t yet
I have taken out a lifetime
mortgage to help fund my
retirement
I’ve considered a lifetime
mortgage to help fund my
retirement, but haven’t done this
yet
Which of the following have you done related to your retirement?

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1 in 10 retirees still had mortgage debt when they retired
We asked retirees if they had paid off their mortgage by the time they
retired:
70% had paid off their mortgage, 20% were renting but 1 in 10 still had
mortgage debt when they retired.
The average amount outstanding was c£38k.
63% of retirees in this position used their pension or lump sum to pay
off their mortgage debt.
In addition we asked existing mortgage holders when they think they will
have paid off their mortgage:
32% said they think they will be 65 or older before paying off their
mortgage.
Just over 1 in 10 (12%) think they will have paid off their mortgage by
the age of 50.
10%
20%
70%
Yes
No, I was renting
No, I paid my
mortgage off
Did you have any outstanding mortgage
debt when you retired?
12%
56%
32%
What age do you think you’ll have paid off
your mortgage?
Younger than 50 50-64 65+

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33%
19%
17%
7%
7%
6%
6%
5%
I’ve never thought about it, I just pay in the
amount my employer chose
I’ve considered paying in more, but I can’t
afford to
I’ve chosen to pay in more than the
standard contribution amount
I am not currently eligible for my employers
pension scheme
I’ve opted out of paying into a pension as I
can’t afford it at the moment
My employer doesn’t offer a pension
I’ve opted out of paying into a pension as I
don’t want to pay into a pension
Other (please state)
How do you feel about the amount you are paying into
your workplace pension?
Impact of cost of living on employee pension savings
7% of workers opted out of their employers’ pension scheme because they
can’t afford it at the moment
More than 1 in 10 employees told us they have opted
out of their work pension scheme risking future
financial security.
6% said they don’t want to pay into a pension and 7%
feel they can’t afford to.
This rises to 8% of 18-34 year olds saying they can’t
afford to stay in their pension scheme at the moment.
34% of workers say they are saving less overall to cope
with the cost of living.
A quarter are using their savings to meet the current
cost of living.

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Retirement Regrets

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What do retirees wish they had done differently?
44% of retirees wish they’d saved more into their pension.
38% wished they’d started planning for retirement sooner.
Additionally, over one in 10 (12%) wish they’d spoken to a financial adviser about retirement.
Those who retired earlier were less likely to have retirement regrets.
Source: LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme
44%
Wished they’d saved
more into a pension
38%
Wished they’d started
planning for retirement earlier
12%
Wished they’d spoken to a
financial adviser about retirement
Agree with the following statements

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What advice would retirees give their younger selves?
Source: LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme

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Closing thoughts
Source: LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme
The overarching theme in our results is that retirees are aware that they often haven’t saved
enough.
Sometimes this is because they had to retire earlier than planned, which cut short the time they had
to save into a pension.
Many also wait until they are in their 50s or 60s before considering how much pension income they
might need, which can be too late if they then realise they don’t have enough saved.
If they could do it all again they would have started earlier and saved more
How can we use these insights to help motivate younger people to better plan and save
for their retirement particularly in this challenging economic environment?
Are there way to help them understand that it can be worth saving more earlier on, in case
retirement happens earlier than planned due to something unexpected?