Under 30s fear being too ill to enjoy retirement

The UK's youngest generation of working adults face concerns over health and money in their old age, the latest figures suggest.

Against the backdrop of rising long-term care costs and low levels of retirement savings across the British workforce, research from Scottish Widows has revealed a significant generational shift in the perceptions and realities of retirement among the under thirties.

Half the respondents in their twenties believe their income in retirement will be lower than that of their parents and more than a third worry they will retire too late in life to be physically well enough to engage in their retirement plans. In comparison, just a fifth of those in their fifties felt the same way.

Despite their fears, just 4 per cent currently consider saving for a pension as a financial priority, despite evidence that suggests retirement income could increase by 39 per cent if adults started saving for retirement at 20 rather than 30.

For an average income in retirement of £25,200, the typical amount 20 somethings wanted, a 30-year-old contributing to a pension for the first time would need to save £1,000 every month until the point they retire. And yet when asked if they knew what an annuity was, fewer than one fifth (19 per cent) of those in their twenties said they did.