Thirty-nine per cent of pensioners have regrets about decisions they have made for their retirement, research by Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) has found.

A survey of 500 retirees carried out by Opinium in May revealed that failing to put together a plan early enough was the top retirement regret (15%), while one in 10 (10%) regretted not boosting contributions early enough.

Head of retirement analysis at HL, Helen Morrissey, said: "By far the most common regret is not having planned far enough in advance. It’s an understandable impulse to put it off when you are struggling in the here and now and retirement seems many years away. However, the closer you get to retirement, the less you can do if you find you aren’t on track for the lifestyle you hoped for."

Research found that 3% wished they had kept a closer eye on their investments, while a further 3% said they hadn’t understood the different retirement options.

Morrissey added: "A lack of understanding around investments and the different retirement options was also highlighted as areas retirees would revisit if they had the chance. It’s true that the retirement landscape can feel very complicated and many may feel they’ve either taken too much risk or not enough when it comes to their investment strategies."

The firm said that using tools such as its savings and resilience barometer can allow for retirees to model what a moderate retirement lifestyle might cost, while increasing pension contributions and discussing a pension match with respective employers can be a good way to ensure that there are no pension regrets.

Morrissey concluded: "The same could be said of the retirement options out there. For instance, some may have opted for an annuity for all their income without realising they could have left some of their pension in drawdown. Even worse, they may have taken the annuity on offer from their pension company without shopping around for a better income.

"Others may have taken all their tax-free cash at once and put it in the bank rather than having a plan for the money. A self-employed person may have found pensions too inflexible and not realised how a lifetime ISA may have been a better fit for them. Taking the time to plan ahead reduces the risk of knee jerk actions that you may come to regret."

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