New research conducted by specialist mutual Wesleyan has found that the average UK lawyer is waiting too long to start topping up their retirement savings. While the average lawyer anticipates that they will need approximately £36,852 per year in order to live comfortably during their retirement, UK lawyers are putting away on average just £1,042 per month. This translates into an average annual pension saving of just over £12,500, which when then spread over a 20-year retirement whittles down to just £27,539 per year as post-retirement income.
Starting too late
Wesleyan calculated its shortfall based on an average retirement age of 58 for lawyers in the UK. The firm’s research also found that, on average, lawyers don’t start shoring up their retirement savings above their basic workplace pension contribution until the age of 29. Lawyers who wait until that age to start upping their savings will need to put away £1,523 per month for the rest of their careers in order to reach the £36,852 per year pension target, warns Wesleyan.
Avoiding financial regret
Wesleyan chief customer and strategy officer Vicki Wentworth commented: ‘Our research tells us that failing to save early enough if one of the biggest financial regrets, so it’s imperative that people start saving earlier to avoid a shock later in life.’ Data collected by Wesleyan found that 27 per cent of surveyed lawyers anticipated that they would need to continue working part-time jobs as they transition into retirement, despite the desire to give up work completely being one of the top three retirement aspirations for legal professionals.
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