Reaching retirement harder, experts warn

Thu, 01 Jun 2006

People in the UK will face a tougher time when they come to rely on pensions due to rising bills, research shows.

Research carried out by Norwich Union suggests that pension households now spend almost a quarter of their total income on bills.

The pension research was compiled by the centre for economic and business research and states that the cost of fuel, water, electricity and gas rose by nearly £100 last year, double that of the previous year.

Overall, bills in pension households climbed by 7.4 per cent, an increase which may mean more individuals need to organise a personal pension plan or company pension earlier.

The biggest average increases in 2005 for pension households included gas bills by £31, council tax and domestic rates by £29 and electricity bills by £25.

Daren Carter, director of sales and marketing for Norwich Union personal finance, said: "Retirement is often regarded as a time when pensioners should be enjoying their life but rising household bills mean that many on fixed incomes are struggling to makes ends meet."

The government has recently released its Pensions White Paper, which plans to restore a link to earnings by 2012, involving a future rise in the retirement age to 68.

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