Wealthiest forced to plunder savings as cost of living bites
ONE in four earners on a salary of at least £100,000 says he or she does not have any "spare money" due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Soaring energy costs and record inflation have left 23 percent of the wealthiest workers short of cash, a poll has revealed. Many are scuppering their retirement plans by eating into savings and pension pots to cope. Investment advice company Brewin Dolphin quizzed 2,000 high-rate taxpayers earning more than £50,000 a year.
People in this pay bracket intend, on average, to retire at 58 – yet the current crisis and a lack of financial planning is expected to push that back by six years, the company said.
Those polled believed they would need a pot of £510,000 on average to retire, but in reality they will probably need around £80,000 more, said Brewin Dolphin. It added that Britain is “a long way from being a nation of investors”.
Among high earners, 34 percent overall believe investing is too risky, while a similar proportion say they do not understand investment schemes enough to take the risk – rising to 40 percent among women but down to 23 percent among men.
Financial planner Menna Cule, from Brewin Dolphin, said: “Telling people to save for their retirement is a really tough message at the moment.
“The cost-of-living crisis is only just starting to bite.
“Many people don’t have any money left after buying food and paying their bills.”