Finances a major concern for a third of retirees

SunLife's Big 50 study interviewed 50,000 people aged 50 and over.

Finances a major concern for a third of retirees

More than a third of retirees (35%) are worried their money will run out and a quarter say they do not think they have enough money in their pensions to cover their retirement , a study by Sunlife suggests.

The Big 50 study by SunLife, which interviewed 50,000 people aged 50 and over, showed that money is the biggest concern for 28% of retirees.

Andrea Rozario, chief corporate officer at Bower Retirement Services, argues equity release would be a good solution.

She said: “In many cases, the question remains as to whether those in retirement are thinking about the usefulness of their greatest asset - their house.

“This asset should be taken into consideration, and downsizing arguably needs to be part of retirement planning.

“Another option is it may be to turn to a product equity release which gives peace of mind to those with financial concerns.”

Ian Atkinson, director of marketing at SunLife, said: “Our research shows that the vast majority of retired people think they retired too early (85%); whilst there could be many reasons why they feel this way, our research suggests that money is the main issue as a third are now concerned their money won’t last as long as them!”