Retirement planning essential as life expectancy rises

People in the UK are living longer -- and that means it's vital to plan your retirement finances.

Yet research from the London Institute of Banking & Finance has found that many over-50s have failed to save enough for their retirement and are planning to continue working into their 70s.

Life expectancy at birth in England has now increased to 79.6 years for males and 83.2 years for females, the latest figures show.

So more of us will live longer and that means longer to enjoy retirement.

This is good news, said Peter Hahn, Dean of the London Institute of Banking & Finance and Professor of Banking: "People forget that it wasn't that long ago you retired from work and died shortly after. Today many people look forward to having a little bit more time in retirement to be able to spend with their families, travel and enjoy life.

"However, that has some challenges -- first, how do you support yourself financially? Somebody who is 50 today has a life expectancy of around 80 -- so that's 30+ years. If you're not going to work for all of that, do you have enough money?

"Second, all those extra years aren't necessarily going to be healthy -- how will you look after yourself?"

The Institute pointed out that healthy life expectancy is now 63.3 years for males and 63.9 years for females in England, suggesting that many of us face 16-20 years living in poor health.

Start saving as early as possible, and think about whether you're saving enough, recommended Brian Wilkinson, Managing Director of Corporate & Professional Qualifications.

Beyond that, the key consideration has to be financial advice, Wilkinson explained: "When you think about the mix of assets owned by people these days, they're more complex than ever before. A typical average household has housing wealth, pension pots, savings and investments.

"That mix of assets needs to be managed carefully to ensure consumers can release cash at a time when they are most likely to need it."