On average, UK adults spend three days, six hours and 35 minutes per year shopping around for Christmas presents for their loved ones, pets and even their bin collectors. This amounts to six months over a lifetime. In comparison, research showed proved that Brits spend just seven days in total shopping for the right annuity or pension product.
Women in particular spend longer shopping for Christmas presents for their nearest and dearest. A third (36%) would spend more than one week each year, equivalent to more than one year and three months over a lifetime, compared to 55% who spend just one week or more choosing a lifetime financial product.
The research shows that UK adults are aware of the need to shop around when it comes to buying financial products. Despite pensions and annuities receiving the least amount of time to purchase, almost half (43%) would consult over 11 sources of information before buying. A third (31%) of adults would refer to five sources of information when purchasing car or home insurance.
Darren Dicks, head of annuities for Aviva, said: "It's great to see that people are becoming more savvy as consumers and are trying to shop around to get the best. However, it's worrying that we might spend more time choosing Christmas presents for our dog than we would finding the best product to see us through the whole of our retirement!
"It's important that customers get the best advice and find the right solutions to help them increase their income in retirement. If people invest time in planning for retirement sooner than later, as well as getting sound financial advice, they can prepare for the retirement they deserve."
