UK retirees say what they wish they'd done differently before leaving work

Financial services company Canada Life found two in five retirees would have done something differently when it came to approaching retirement.

Almost one in five retirees (17%) said they would have increased pension savings while working and over one in 10 (12%) would have made lifestyle adjustments while working to save more for their later years.

With hindsight, nearly one tenth of people (8%) believed they should have carried on working longer and retire later.

NimbleFins previously reported how workers would make an extra £666 a year for the rest of their life if they deferred withdrawing a pension for a year.

Tom Evans, managing director of retirement at Canada Life, said: "As the third chapter of life, retirement should be a positive experience and for many, that is thankfully the case. However, with the benefit of hindsight, there are some valuable lessons for us all to learn from the current generation of retirees. Most regrets centre around money, wishing more was saved, and earlier, and often making choices around lifestyle to allow for that extra cash to go into the pension.

“Many also wished they’d stayed on and worked later, which can have significant positive effects on both financial well-being, and mental health."

To qualify for the full State Pension you must have made at least 35 years of National Insurance contributions by the time you reach pension age. However, at £11,502 a year, workers usually invest in a private pension too.

Since 2012 workers earning more than £10,000 have been auto-enrolled into a private pension through their payroll.

Workers can withdraw from it, but they will be missing out on contributions from their employers as well as tax relief on anything they save.

NimbleFins previously reported how one in 10 workers are missing out on £250,000 free cash for their pension over their working life by opting out of their workplace pension scheme.

This doesn't include the amount saved by the worker themselves - only contributions from the employer and Government.

Mr Evans suggested savers use a regulated advisor to have navigate the "myriad of investments" available, tax, inheritance and generating replacement income.

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