Standard Life research reveals a growing divide between retirement aspirations and expectations
The ‘retirement-expectation gap’ – the difference between when people want to retire and when they expect to be able to – has broken the five-year barrier for the first time, according to new research from Standard Life.
The Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement has published the 2026 Standard Life Retirement Voice report, which explores the retirement attitudes of 6,000 people across the UK.
The report reveals that people still want to retire at 62.3 – an age that has remained unchanged for three years – but the age at which they expect to actually stop working has risen again and now stands at 67.6. This has widened the gap between retirement hopes and expectations to 5.3 years, up from 4.7 last year and 4.4 in 2024.
The widening gap comes as people continue to navigate financial pressures and concerns about whether they have saved enough for later life. More than a quarter (26 per cent) of UK adults are struggling to get by on their current income, slightly up from 24 per cent last year, while two in three (63 per cent) worry they are not saving enough for retirement. Almost half (48 per cent) also say their retirement finances are mainly influenced by factors outside of their control.
However, the research also suggests that the gap is far from fixed. Standard Life analysis finds a strong relationship between financial planning and retirement expectations, with those who have done the most planning facing a gap 4.8 years smaller than those who have done none.
The data suggests that people are not only concerned that their ideal retirement age is slipping further away, but that working longer may not always be an option. While 51 per cent expect they will need to work beyond state-pension age, almost one in five (18 per cent) say they would be unable to continue in their current role past 60, and almost half (47 per cent) say they could not continue working in the same role beyond 70.
Pessimism about life after work is also growing, with over half (51 per cent) worrying whether their finances will last throughout retirement and two-fifths (42 per cent) expecting their standard of living in retirement to be worse than it is today.
Yet despite these fears, just 12 per cent of people are prioritising pension saving – down from 15 per cent last year – and more than a third (35 per cent) have done no retirement planning whatsoever, rising to 39 per cent of millennials and 40 per cent of Gen Z – the two age groups that want to retire the earliest.
Standard Life’s analysis shows a clear relationship between retirement planning and the retirement-expectation gap. Those who have done a considerable amount of retirement planning have a gap of just 2.5 years, compared with 7.3 years among those who have done none.
The research also found that among respondents on household incomes under £30,000, people who have engaged in financial planning expect to retire 1.6 years earlier than those who have done none, and more than two years earlier than ‘non-planners’ earning £30,000 - £100,000. Among those earning over £100,000, those who have planned have a gap of just 0.6 years, compared with 5.1 years among those who have not.
Catherine Foot, director of the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, commented: “This year’s findings point to a noticeable shift in how people are feeling about retirement.
“The age people would ideally like to retire hasn’t changed, but the point at which they think they will actually be able to stop work is drifting further away. That is happening as the state-pension age itself begins its phased rise from 66 to 67, and against a backdrop of renewed pressure on household finances and a wider sense of economic and global uncertainty. Together, these factors risk making retirement feel less certain and more distant, rather than a milestone people can plan towards with confidence.
“The gaps matter too. Renters, women and younger generations are among those furthest from the retirement they would ideally like, while many people also question whether working into their late 60s or beyond will be physically or practically possible.
“As the state-pension age rises, that should be an important consideration for policymakers. A sustainable retirement system cannot simply assume that everyone will be able to solve an adequacy problem by working for longer.
“There is, however, a positive message. The findings show a very clear relationship between planning and people’s retirement expectations, even among those on lower incomes. Starting earlier, understanding what you already have and, where affordable, increasing pension contributions can make a meaningful difference. For many people, relatively modest action now could help bring the retirement they want considerably closer.
“At the same time, individual action can only go so far, and this report underlines the scale of the opportunity presented by the next stage of the Pensions Commission to shape the adequacy of pension saving and consider the long-term future of the UK’s pension system. Employers also need to consider how careers can become more flexible as working lives lengthen.
“The goal should be a system that gives people greater confidence and is fair to the people who live with it, giving them choice over when and how they retire, rather than having a later retirement as the default because they feel they have no alternative.”
Pictured: Catherine Foot, director of the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement
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