Retirement Plans

Britons urged to save for Lent

Saving rather than spending on non-essential items over Lent could save the average Briton almost £86, it has been claimed.

According to moneysupermarket.com, Britons spend an average of nearly £15 a week on non-essential purchases like coffees, teas, soft drinks, newspapers and magazines, food snacks, parking, cigarettes and chewing gum.



While giving up buying these items over the 40 days of Lent and saving instead could save almost £86, this could extend to nearly £800 for a year, or £22.6 billion collectively.

Meanwhile, if Britons stopped spending on non-essentials throughout their working lives, they could save £33,000, or enough to buy a BMW Z4 coupe, the website said.

Managing director at moneysupermarket.com Stuart Glendinning said that many people thought nothing of making the odd purchase throughout the day for coffee and other items, but that cutting them out and putting the money in a leading savings account could save £142,705 on reaching retirement.

He said: " People who set up a vehicle to deposit these savings into are wise to do so, but if they stick to it for the long-term, they need to ensure they are constantly checking their savings are benefiting from the best rate on the market and where possible, move their money elsewhere if this is not the case."

Pension consumers 'need to accept more risk'

Consumers need to accept more risks when it comes to drawing up a retirement plan, a new survey claims.

About 70 per cent of the independent financial advisors (IFAs) questioned by Lincoln Financial Group said that clients will need to accept higher levels of risk when planning for life after work.

The firm also cited figures from the Association of British Insurers showing that the A-Day pension reforms have sparked a 54 per cent rise in new total single premium individual pensions and a 45 per cent rise in regular premiums new business compared with the year before.

Director of business development at the group Helen Turner said that the A-Day reforms had helped to revive the pensions market despite the "general air of gloom" over saving for retirement.

She commented: "It is striking that IFAs believe that their clients now have to accept higher levels of risk in their retirement income planning and encouraging that IFAs will use their expertise and experience to help clients understand the issues when planning for retirement."

A recent survey from Friends Provident revealed that 68 per cent of retirees feel they need more than the state pension in order to retire comfortably.

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