Authors: Personal Finance Research Centre
Funded by: Money Advice Service
Published by: Money Advice Service
Publication date: August 2017

This review was intended to inform the work of the UK Financial Capability Strategy’s Retirement Planning Steering Group. It brings together existing sources of information about financial capability specifically in relation to retirement planning – focusing on planning for retirement among pre-retirees as well as evidence related to older people’s planning in retirement.

This review had a wide remit and did not focus on any particular segment of the population; rather it looked across the population as a whole. We identified and reviewed approximately 60 pieces of evidence, which mainly originated in the UK. These included qualitative research studies; analysis of large-scale datasets; consumer surveys; and research undertaken to test interventions and prototypes. Most of the evidence we reviewed was produced in the last five years.

Following the introduction of Pension Freedom and Choice in April 2015 (which gave people greater access to their pensions), a good deal of research has centred on people aged 55+ with defined contribution (DC) pensions – but this group was not the sole or primary focus of this review. We also reviewed expert responses to HM Treasury’s consultation on Public Financial Guidance Proposals, which provided some additional information not published elsewhere.

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Financial capability and retirement (PDF, 1,451kB)

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