State pension forecast not checked by nearly 4 in 10 retirees | Personal Finance | Finance
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Almost four in ten (37 percent) retired or semi-retired adults failed to check their state pension forecast before stepping back from work, new research from retirement specialist Just Group shows. Among those who did check, 14 percent said their forecast was less than they had expected.
About half of these people said the forecast was £500 per year less than they had anticipated.
Meanwhile, 10 percent of those who checked their forecast said it was more than they expected.
Stephen Lowe, group communications director at Just Group, said that the state pension as a source of income is too important to leave to chance.
“State pension makes up about half or more of income for 4.7 million of the 7.5 million pensioner households, so it is crucial people track how much they are likely to receive,” he said.
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“It’s good that about six in 10 did check what they will get but that still leaves significant numbers, including a slightly higher proportion of women (39 percent) than men (35 percent), lacking this important information.
“Significant numbers of people – again about four in 10 – retired with no financial planning while one in 10 men (10 percent) and almost one in five women (17 percent) said they had no time to plan.”
Mr Lowe said that of the 24 percent who said their forecast was not what they were expecting, a third said it was between £250 and £500 less.
A quarter said it was more than £500 less; for a third it was £250 and £500 more, and for about one in ten it was £500 more.
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Once receiving their state pension, 85 percent said it was what their forecast had led them to expect.
“Ideally, people should know exactly what their income is going to be before making the decision to retire because that’s the only way to ensure giving up work is affordable,” said Mr Lowe.
“In the real-world, retirement can arrive unexpectedly, perhaps due to poor health or redundancy.
“Those shocks are easier to deal with if people have started considering their options from their early 50s, for example, by getting a state pension forecast, taking professional advice or the free, independent and impartial guidance available from Pension Wise, the government’s service.”
Another way to check the state pension forecast is by contacting the Future Pension Centre.
This can be done by calling the helpline on 0800 731 0175.
This can be done if the person reaches state pension age in more than 30 days.
Those in this position could also get a state pension forecast by filling in the BR19 application form, and sending it by post.
“Applying online is the quickest way to get a forecast,” GOV.UK states.
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