Member Article

North West’s over 55s face a bleak retirement

Hale-based property crowdfunding platform, The House Crowd, has found that 78% of the North West’s over 55s report that they are financially unprepared for their retirement. A ‘lost generation’ of those nearing the end of their working lives are facing a bleak retirement, with new data from The House Crowd showing:

• 34% say their hopes for a financially secure retirement are no longer possible
• 37% say their lifestyle will be worse once they retire – just 13% think it will improve
• 22% say it’s too late to change their plans and save more for their retirement

The survey of Baby Boomers across the UK revealed that over 55s know that their plans for retirement are inadequate, yet feel they are powerless to change their fate:

• One in five (20%) blame the Government for not being able to save for retirement
• On average, those surveyed said they’d like their annual income to be £18,235 once retired – but think in reality they will only receive £14,180
• Over half (51%) do not have a personal pension, and do not plan to put one in place
• Over a quarter (28%) do not have a workplace pension, and do not plan to put one in place
• This indicates a significant number of today’s over 55s are planning to rely on their state pension

Women in the UK feel even less positive about their retirement than men: just 17% of women said they are prepared financially for retirement, while 28% of men reported being on track. Women were also more likely to blame the Government for being unable to save for their retirement (23%, versus 18% of male respondents).

Frazer Fearnhead, founder and CEO of The House Crowd, one of the UK’s leading property crowdfunding platforms, said: “These results paint such a miserable picture that we call these people Baby Doomers – but it’s not too late for those approaching retirement to improve their situation. By exploring newer investment options, like property crowdfunding, over 55s can benefit from solid rates of return to help make retirement more comfortable.”

The House Crowd was launched in 2012, and to date has successfully raised over £38M from retail investors, has funded over 285 projects and paid out £6M to investors. For more information, visit www.thehousecrowd.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Georgina Christopher .