Cost of retiring underestimated
Young people are underestimating the cost of retirement by nearly a quarter of a million pounds, a study has shown.A survey by Selftrade showed that one in four people had no idea of the cost of retirement and others underestimated the cost by an average of £240,000.Many thought £260,000 would suffice - but according to Selftrade, this would amount to £13,000 a year, and that a figure of £500,000 was more realistic.Neil Jamieson, retail marketing and business development director at Selftrade, said: "Our findings reveal a worrying lack of understanding about how much people should be saving for their future retirement."A 30-year-old with no pension provision wanting to retire at 65 with a lump sum of 500,000 pounds would need to be saving approximately 450 pounds per month."The message is simple: start saving as much as possible now."Even those in their fifties seemed naïve to the true cost of retirement.These figures come as the government plans pension system reforms that would raise the age at which a state pension starts paying out and also try to make people save themselves for retirement in "personal accounts".Mr Jamieson said: "Clearly there is a need to promote awareness amongst people about what they should be saving and how they can save effectively."
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