DEFINITION OF RETIREMENT IS OUTDATED, SAY MORE THAN HALF OF PENSIONERS

• Retirees are living life to the full; traveling abroad, taking up new hobbies and socialising more

• And the definition of ‘retirement’ no longer reflects the reality

• Recent retirees have built up enough savings and aren’t worried about their finances

• But the face of retirement is changing, and we all need to plan for this, says RCI Bank

The term ‘retirement’ generally evokes connotations of withdrawal, seclusion and even loneliness. However, this doesn’t reflect how recent retirees really feel about their lifestyles, with more than half (56%)¹ claiming the definition is out of date, according to research from RCI Bank.²

Challenging the stereotype

With life expectancy on the up, and medical innovations improving quality of life for the UK’s elderly, life post-work is more sociable than ever. Two thirds (67%) of recent retirees are spending more time with their families, a quarter (25%) have taken up a new hobby, 43% spend more time with friends and 41% travel abroad more.

Retirees clocking up stamps on their passports are typically traveling with their partners (78%), friends (21%), or on their own (15%). Those starting new hobbies are most likely to have learnt a new sport (28%) found their green fingers in the garden (26%); started volunteering (23%), or taken up an Arts & Craft (20%).

Jean-Louis Labauge, CEO of RCI Bank, said: “Although both men and women are typically staying at work beyond the state pension age, the average age of retirement is 64³, and with average life expectancy now at 82⁴, retirees have almost 20 years to fulfil their dreams and make their way through their bucket lists during life after work. This time 50 years ago, we would have expected them to spend the rest of their years watching the world go round from the comfort of a rocking chair. But today they’re seeking adventure; they still have ambitions to fulfil, and they aren’t ready to stop socialising.”

Financial pressures of retirement

Building a solid nest egg is an important part of planning for life beyond work, and those who have retired in the last five years are confident they’ve built enough to have a good time. Only a third (36%) have had to cut back on luxuries since retiring, and seven in ten (70%) are confident they have enough money to get through retirement comfortably.

Jean-Louis Labauge continued: “When you’ve worked all your life it can be difficult to lose your monthly salary, but if you’ve saved hard, retirement is the time to kick back and enjoy the fruits of your labour. However, the face of retirement is evidently changing, and the expectations of future retirees will shift in line with this. With this in mind, it’s important that we’re all saving for retirement from a young age and starting to build those nest eggs, so we can all live life in retirement exactly as we please.”