• Recently retired adults more likely to want to work part-time than spend time with family
  • Standard Life sees 550% uplift in people exploring their retirement choices online in first week of change to pension rules

Most people might envisage retirement as a time to relax and do the things you have always wanted to do, but never had the time for. But new research from long term savings and investment specialist Standard Life reveals that two thirds of adults aged 65-74 (66%) actually want to be working, at least part-time, in retirement.

This compares to just 54% in this age group who said they would like to go travelling or on holidays, and 44% who said they want to spend time with their partner and family. This demonstrates that for many the dream of retirement can be very different to the reality once we reach 65.

A third of adults under the age of 44 (32%) said they would like to spend their retirement relaxing and getting pampered - but this falls to just 15% for those aged 65-74. It appears the rush of the working world is missed by many - one in ten (9%) adults aged 65-74 say they would like to start a business in retirement - but this is the case for just three per cent approaching retirement age (45-64).

Those approaching retirement are showing themselves to be increasingly 'tech savvy'. Around five times as many people used Standard Life's online tools to explore their retirement options in the first week of pensions reforms compared to the previous month1. Customers are using the online tools to 'play' with different scenarios, helping them to fully understand the impact of their decisions - whether that's taking cash for a luxury holiday or balancing a small flexible income with a new part time job. In the first week of pension reforms alone, over 1500 customers transacted online with Standard Life.

Standard Life's online journey uses innovation in content and user experience design to make it easy for these customers to compare, contrast and select their chosen options as well as transact online.

Jamie Jenkins, Pensions Expert at Standard Life, said 'The research shows that for many the dreams of retirement can significantly differ from the reality. The desire to work in particular was quite surprising and is likely down to two reasons - either missing the buzz and camaraderie of the work environment, or perhaps not putting enough aside for their pension in their working life and deciding that they need more cash to play with.

'One thing is for sure, the fact that pensions has recently been so high on the news has spurred many into action to start thinking about their pension - the number of people looking at our online tools is up around 550%; it's great to see that people are realising the importance of researching all the options before making a decision regarding their retirement.'

For more information on Standard Life's range of products and services, visit our web site at www.standardlife.co.uk/readywhenUare

-ENDS-

Media enquiries

For further information, photos, video content or interviews, contact:

  • Chris Bull or Rebecca Bridge at 3 Monkeys Communications: 0207 009 3100, StandardLife@3-monkeys.co.uk
  • Katy Hetherington at Standard Life, 0131 245 2283, katy_hetherington@standardlife.com

Notes to editors

  1. Figure reflects increased unique page views of Standard Life's Retirement Calculator in the week beginning 06/04/15 compared to the week beginning 02/03/15.

About the research

  • All figures are from Opinium. Total sample size for the survey was 3,004 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken in March 2015. The surveys were carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

About Standard Life

  • Standard Life plc is a leading long term investment savings business, dedicated to helping to build a more prosperous world and enabling people to have confidence in their own future. This has been important to Standard Life since it was established in Edinburgh in 1825.
  • In the UK, Standard Life offers a range of individual and group pensions, SIPPs, ISAs, annuities, life assurance, offshore bonds, investment management, wealth management, tax and estate planning services.
  • Standard Life is a leading provider of income drawdown and workplace pensions in the UK, and is well placed to support all its customers through ongoing pension reform.
  • By understanding its customers, investing in technology and offering innovative solutions to meet everyone's needs, Standard Life is making it easier for people to plan their finances and feel more confident about the future.
  • To help customers find out more about saving, Standard Life provides information and tools on its website standardlife.co.uk along with comment, tips and savings news on the MoneyPlus blog.
  • Standard Life has also built MyPortfolio mobile apps to help people keep in touch with their investments.
  • Standard Life is a global business, employing around 6,500 people internationally, through businesses in the UK, Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.
  • Around 4.5 million customers worldwide trust Standard Life with their financial future and it supports a further 20 million customers through its Chinese and Indian joint venture businesses. The business is responsible for the administration of over £296 billion of assets on behalf of its customers and clients.
  • Wherever Standard Life operates in the world, it is motivated by a sense of responsibility. That is what has helped it be a sustainable business over the long term. Standard Life is proud to be listed as a leader for corporate sustainability in its industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI World and DJSI Europe).
  • Standard Life plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has approximately 1.3 million individual shareholders in over 50 countries around the world. It is also one of the top 500 companies worldwide, by revenue, as listed in the 2014 Fortune Global 500.
  • You can follow Standard Life in the UK on twitter @sl_moneyplus and Facebook.
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