On the go: The number of workers making changes to their retirement plans due to the impact of Covid-19 has increased by more than a quarter to 29 per cent, research from Fidelity International has shown.
The survey, which polled 2,000 UK adults in August 2021, revealed an increase in the number of employees delaying retirement due to the pandemic, which stood at 23 per cent in a similar research in October 2020.
Fidelity’s survey found that just over a fifth (21 per cent) of workers intend to ‘phase into’ retirement instead of stopping work on a set date, with 30 per cent wanting to save more after reassessing their pensions during the pandemic.
Another reason for savers to press pause on their retirement plans is to save more money in case long-term care is needed in the future, which was pointed out by 27 per cent of respondents.
Other reasons include needing to support adult children or other family members financially (23 per cent), and recovering retirement savings lost due to Covid-19 (18 per cent).
Maike Currie, investment director at Fidelity International, said that “for many, the effects of the pandemic are far from over”.
She said: “Despite government interventions such as furlough and business support schemes helping to prop up households financially, people are still concerned over a future that has become increasingly blurry following the events of the past two years.
“Many are choosing to put more safety measures in place, whether by re-evaluating their pensions, working longer, or changing their expectations for retirement. In essence, workers are battening down the hatches to protect themselves against what may come next.
The research showed that for those workers who plan to phase into or delay retirement, the pandemic has continued to push the age they plan to retire back by an average of two and a half years. However, confidence in finding or maintaining a job has fallen by a fifth (18 per cent).
