Despite half (53 per cent) of UK adults worrying they aren’t saving enough for retirement, only 15 per cent have pension saving as one of their top financial priorities for the year, research from Standard Life has revealed.

Standard Life’s 2025 Retirement Voice report showed that the retirement expectation gap for Brits is widening, with their preferred retirement age at 62 but expected retirement now rising to 67, up from 66 in 2024.

In terms of what is influencing this, the research indicated that rising living costs and uncertainty in the current economic environment are putting pressure on retirement planning and shaping people’s outlook for the future, with only 30 per cent of UK adults saying they are currently living comfortably.

Nearly half (47 per cent) also reported feeling that their retirement finances are beyond their control.

Another factor that Standard Life highlighted as potentially contributing to the widening retirement expectation gap is the planned increase in the state pension age from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028.

However, the report found that public awareness of the state pension age is low, with less than one in five (18 per cent) correctly identifying the current state pension age of 66.

But it is not only awareness of the state pension that is low, but also people's confidence in it, as less than a third (29 per cent) believe the triple lock will still be in place when they retire.

And just over half (51 per cent) think that the state pension, as it is currently, will still be available for all by the time they retire.

The growing retirement expectation gap is already shaping people’s outlook on later life, the firm said, with its research showing that 38 per cent of working-age adults expect to have a worse standard of living in retirement than they do currently.

Confidence in working later in life is also limited, with 49 per cent believing they could do their job, or one like it, by the time they are 70.

Standard Life noted that, simultaneously, many individuals are "forced out of work" sooner than planned due to caregiving responsibilities, health issues, disabilities, skill shortages, and age discrimination in hiring, which may be compounding the challenges associated with the retirement expectation gap.

However, the research showed that although the average UK retirement expectation gap is currently five years, this varies based on geography and socio-economic background.

For instance, geographically, the largest retirement expectation gap is in the North East at 5.9 years, while the smallest is in the West Midlands at 4.7 years.

Homeownership also plays a role: renters face a gap of 6.1 years, compared with just 2.1 years for those who own their homes outright.

Pension savings further influence the gap, with those having no pension savings experiencing a 6.5-year gap, compared with 4.7 years for defined contribution (DC) pensions, 2.5 years for defined benefit (DB) pensions, and 2.1 years for personal pensions.

Despite the growing gap, Standard Life analysis showed that those who engage with retirement planning tend to have a smaller retirement expectation gap.

Its research revealed that those who earn under £30,000 and who claim they have done ‘a great deal’ of retirement planning, despite being the lowest-income households, have a gap of just 4.7 years compared to those who have done no planning, where the gap is 8.1 years.

Commenting on the report, Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement director, Catherine Foot, said: “The fact that people face a growing gap between their retirement hopes and expectations reflects the financial pressures and uncertainties many households face, and there are some clear variations depending on where you live, your level of income, the amount of pension savings you have, and whether or not you own your own home.”

Foot said that the revived Pension Commission offers an opportunity to deliver “even bolder” action than the commission before them – building on the groundwork of auto-enrolment to tackle pension adequacy, in the context of longer working lives and the ongoing state pension age review, to “help people get one step closer to achieving their retirement aspirations”. 

“The growing retirement expectation gap highlights the need for a system that supports flexibility, resilience, and confidence in later life – underpinned by policies, employers and accessible advice that empowers people to achieve the retirement they hope for,” she added.

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