Our latest research shows that Britons are putting aside an average of £1.72 per day into their pension pot – less than the cost of a high street coffee.
We’ve surveyed over 12,000 people as part of our ongoing Tackling the Savings Gap campaign and found that, overall, people are spending more on impulse buys like coffee and snacks in a month than they are investing in a comfortable retirement.
Britons are investing £51 per month on average into their retirement funds. However, they are spending £56 per month on impulse purchases and getting into increasing amounts of debt. This rises again in 18-34 year olds, who confessed to spending £75.90 per month on impulse buys – that’s £2.53 per day.
Our research shows that Britons took on an average of £1,272 worth of debt in the last three months, with a majority believing it is easier now to get into debt than it was 10 years ago.
Managing Partner, David Harrison, said: “The pension freedoms introduced earlier this year have given savers more control than ever over their retirement funds. The earlier people start saving and the more they are prepared to put into their funds, the more options they will have when the time comes to access their pension.
“We live in an impulse debt culture but we need to impulse save instead. The fact that many people choose to spend money on small items like coffee and snacks than their retirement funds points to a culture of complacency and a lack of awareness.
“I believe the onus is on the financial services industry and the authorities governing it to use technology and continue to push for simpler, more accessible products and services. This would enable more people to truly take advantage of the pension freedoms and secure their financial future.”
With impulseSave®, our world-first investment top-up technology, we’re helping impulse spenders become impulse savers. Since launching in 2014, almost a third of impulseSave® top ups have been for £10 or less and we’re poised to reach a total of £50 million impulse saved by the end of 2015.
Read our latest Tackling the Savings Gap White Paper for Q2 2015 >
You can also read the latest coverage of our research in today’s Daily Express.
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