The evolving landscape of retirement plans is highlighting the need for advisers and their clients to make their investments work harder for them, according to HSBC Life (UK).

Its study found that, on average, advisers expect 43 per cent of their clients to work past standard retirement ages.

Furthermore, they expect 29 per cent of their clients to retire abroad, with HSBC Life stating that these evolutions underlined how advice and the use of investable capital need to adapt to help support clients with achieving their plans.

Nearly half (44 per cent) of clients working with advisers expect to work beyond normal retirement ages, rising to 64 per cent of those aged between 35 and 45.

Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of advisers’ clients expect to or plan to retire abroad.

HSBC Life said the findings underlined the need for income from investments, with advisers estimating that around 45 per cent of their clients have a current need to generate income from their investments and that 42 per cent are drawing on capital rather than natural income.

“The idea of a standard retirement age linking in with state pension age still resonates,” commented HSBC Life (UK) head of onshore bond distribution, Mark Lambert.

“It is a reasonable point in time to be used in financial planning where an adviser’s client is not ready to confirm exactly when they wish to stop working, but clearly the landscape is changing and will continue to change as will views on retiring overseas.

“The growing shift in retirement attitudes is part of the evolving way that people plan for retirement and how they use investments vehicles other than pension products in that process.

“Being able to generate a tax-efficient income, for example, through tax effective wrappers like onshore bonds could well contribute to the answer.”

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