One in eight people within 20 years of retirement who have an above average income have told Alliance Trust Savings that they don’t know how – or when –they will be able to afford to stop working.

A nationwide survey, conducted by Boring Money for Alliance, quizzed over 1,000 45 to 55-year olds with either individual incomes in excess of £35,000 a year, or a household income of at least £60,000.

It also found that although a third had clear goals in place for retirement and financial plans in place to achieve them, a similar number (29 per cent) had not really thought about funding their later life. In addition, while almost three-quarters said they would rely on a workplace pension to fund retirement, one in five said they would rely on an expected inheritance to fund their retirement and 26 per cent expected that they or their partner would continue to work.

Alliance Trust Savings head of platform proposition Sara Wilson said: “With much of the recent focus on younger generations and those in or at retirement, it can be easy to overlook the scale of the financial challenges facing people in their mid-life years.

“Those within 10 years of being able to access their pension savings are often faced with a raft of potentially complex challenges, from the cost of raising children and looking after ageing parents, to dealing with divorce or the threat of redundancy. All while keeping household finances in shape and setting money aside for later in life.

“Putting plans in place, keeping a close eye on them and, ideally, seeking professional advice is therefore essential in enabling people to get the best out of their finances and take the stress out of the mid-life years.”

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