Are you saving enough for retirement?

6 Feb 2023, 9:06 a.m.

If you are wondering how much you might need to live on in retirement, you may find it helpful to take a look at the Retirement Living Standards.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) developed the Standards in 2019 after research revealed only 20% of people felt confident they were saving enough for retirement, and 70% agreed that a savings target would help with retirement planning.

The standards set out how much a single person or a couple may need if they want to have either a ‘minimum’, ‘moderate’ or ‘comfortable’ living standard in retirement and have recently been updated to reflect the rising cost of living.

According to the standards a couple would need around £19,900 a year to afford a ‘minimum’ lifestyle, and £54,500 to afford a ‘comfortable’ lifestyle. These estimates include things like food, transport, clothes, holidays, and entertainment.

When looking to see if you are on track to meeting the recommended standard, you may wish to take into account expected income from your state pension, as well as any private or occupational pensions.

You can use your annual benefit statement to help you keep a check on your LGPS pension. The annual benefit statement is an estimate of how much your pension is worth after cost of living increases are applied and, if you are still paying in, how much it may be worth when you come to retire.

These figures can be used to help you decide if you are on track to achieving your desired retirement lifestyle. If you are currently paying in, you may wish to consider paying more to boost your pension pot at retirement.

Each summer, we will publish your annual benefit statement to our self-service portal, ‘my pension online’. If you are registered for ‘my pension online’, we will send you an email to let you know when it’s ready.