Report: The retirement income riddle

Legal & General’s research explores the relationship people have with their pension savings, and their finances in general, and how that affects their health and wellbeing, financial security, and life satisfaction and quality.

Key findings

• As access to advice at a price people are willing to pay becomes increasingly limited, Legal & General predicts an increase in the percentage of customers making sweeping financial decisions about their retirement without guidance.
• Without advice, many individuals may be taking out drawdown pensions without fully understanding them.
• In undertaking this research, Legal & General believes it has found further evidence of the need to consider all retirement options and the importance of including annuities in these – particularly for those on lower incomes.
• Providers, such as Legal & General, need to do more to help engage consumers and guide them to making better decisions.

This research predominately analyses consumer behaviour after the introduction of the pension reforms in 2015, when changes to the rules on defined contribution savings were introduced.