• Brits’ preferred retirement age remains at 62, but they don’t expect to be able to retire until 67, increasing from 66 last year and widening the gap to five years

• This increases to more than six years for renters and for those with no pension savings

• Across the UK, those in the North East have the widest gap at 5.9 years, while London has the narrowest at 3.5 years

• Growing gap fuelled by wider anxieties: half unsure whether the State Pension will exist by the time they retire, while a third of working-age adults expect to have a worse standard of living in retirement than they do currently

• Pension savers could help close the gap by contributing just 2% more throughout their career

Tuesday, October 7th 2025: The Retirement Expectation Gap – the gap between when Brits want to retire and when they actually think they will be able to – has widened in the last year, according to new research from Standard Life, as rising living costs, pension insecurity and ongoing financial pressures push expectation further from aspiration.

The Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement today publishes the 2025 Standard Life Retirement Voice report1 – exploring the retirement attitudes of 6,000 people across the UK. Data from the report shows that the average preferred retirement age for people remains at 62 – unchanged on a year ago, and a year later than in 2023, when it was 61 – but the age at which people actually expect to be able to retire has increased to 67, rising from 66 in 2024 and widening the Retirement Expectation Gap from four to five years.

Uncertainty and cost of living pressures widening Retirement Expectation Gap

Rising living costs and uncertainty around the current economic environment are continuing to put pressure on retirement planning and people’s outlook for the future. Only three in ten (30%) of UK adults saying they are currently living comfortably, and despite half (53%) worrying they aren’t saving enough for retirement, only 15% have pension saving as one of their top financial priorities for the year. Almost half (47%) feel their retirement finances are outside their control.

While the scheduled rise in the state pension age from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028 is a possible factor in the shift in expectation to 67, the report also shows that public awareness of the State Pension age is low – with less than one in five (18%) correctly identifying the current State Pension age of 66. Confidence in the State Pension is also low. Less than a third (29%) think the Triple Lock will still be in place when they reach retirement, and only a little over half (51%) think that the State Pension will still be available for all by the time they retire, as it is currently.

This growing Retirement Expectation Gap is already shaping people’s outlook on later life, with over a third (38%) of working-age adults expecting to have a worse standard of living in retirement than they do currently. Meanwhile, confidence in working later in life is limited – just less than half (49%) believe they could do their job, or one like it, by the time they are 70. At the same time, many are forced out of work earlier than planned due to caring responsibilities, health conditions, disabilities, skills gaps and ageism in recruitment – potentially compounding the challenge of the Retirement Expectation Gap. Separate Standard Life research2 finds that around 437,000 over-50s leave the workforce each year from sectors like manufacturing, clean energy, life sciences and tech – known as the ‘Industrial Strategy’ sectors, which are seen as vital to UK economic growth.

Who is most affected? Variations across region, income and housing status

While the average Retirement Expectation Gap across the UK is five years, it varies widely depending on geography and socio-economic background:

• Region: The Retirement Expectation Gap is widest in the North East (5.9 years) and Yorkshire & the Humber (5.3 years), and it is the narrowest in

- Ends -

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Notes to editors:

[1] Research conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Standard Life in June 2025. In total 6000 participants took part in the online survey. Participants were aged 18-80 and were a mix of working, unemployed and retired people. Quotas and weights were used to ensure the respondents were representative of the UK general population on age, gender and region.

[2] Counting on Experience: The demographics of the Industrial Strategy workforce

[3] Analysis of Retirement Expectation Gap by UK region:

[4] Calculations assume the following:

Starting Salary £25,000

Starting Age 22

Investment Growth 5.00%

Annual Investment Charge 0.75%

And 2% inflation.

% increase in contributions refers to percentage points of qualifying salary.

Calculations are intended only for the sole purpose of providing an illustration regarding the projection of savings and pensions. They should not be used with the intention to give an accurate representation of real-world outcomes.

About Standard Life

Standard Life is a brand that has been trusted to look after peoples’ life savings for 200 years.

Today it proudly serves millions of customers who come to Standard Life directly, through advisers and through their employers’ pension scheme.

Standard Life is part of Phoenix Group, one of the largest long-term savings and retirement business in the UK. We’re proud to be building on 200 years of Standard Life heritage together.

Our products include a variety of Pensions, Bonds and Retirement options to suit people’s needs, helping our customers to invest and save for their future. We’re proud to offer a leading range of sustainable and responsible investment options.

We support our customers on their journey to and through retirement with comprehensive, easy-to-understand guidance so they can invest in the right way for their needs and plan a future they feel confident about.

The value of investments can go down as well as up and may be worth less than originally invested.

About the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement

Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement is a pioneering UK think tank with a bold ambition to help everyone achieve long-term financial security.

How we work, save, and retire is changing, and it will look different for everyone. That traditional idea of spending decades in full-time employment and then retiring with a comfortable, guaranteed income is no longer going to be a reality for most people.

Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement uses research to provoke fresh debate, drive action and influence change so that people can secure their financial future and enjoy a decent standard of living in their later lives.

It is led by Catherine Foot, a leading research and policy specialist who was appointed as the Director of the think tank under its previous brand, Phoenix Insights, in June 2021.

Catherine has over 20 years of experience in the field. From 2015 to 2021, she was Director of Evidence at the Centre for Ageing Better. She has also held senior roles with The King’s Fund and Cancer Research UK.

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