Retirement hopes stretch further out of reach for Brits as Retirement Expectation Gap breaks five-year barrier for the first time
- People still want to retire at 62, but now expect to work until almost 68, pushing the ‘Retirement Expectation Gap’ to a record 5.3 years
- Renters face a retirement gap of 6.8 years, more than three times the 2.1 years faced by outright homeowners
- Millennials and Gen Z want to retire earliest, at 61 and 60, but face the largest retirement gaps at 6.8 and 5.9 years respectively
- 51% fear their retirement finances won’t last, while 48% feel their finances are mainly influenced by factors outside of their control
- Those who have done a lot of financial planning have a Retirement Expectation Gap almost five years narrower than those who have done none
The Retirement Expectation Gap – the difference between when people want to retire and when they expect to be able to – has broken the five-year barrier for the first time, according to new research from the retirement specialist Standard Life.
The Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement today publishes the 2026 Standard Life Retirement Voice report1 – exploring the retirement attitudes of 6,000 people across the UK.
The report highlights a growing divide between people’s retirement aspirations and expectations, against the backdrop of a rising State Pension age and continued financial uncertainty. People still want to retire at 62.3 – an age that has remained unchanged for three years – but the age at which they expect to actually stop working has risen again and now stands at 67.6. This has widened the gap between retirement hopes and expectations to 5.3 years, up from 4.7 last year and 4.4 in 2024.
Why the Retirement Expectation Gap might be growing
The widening gap comes as people continue to navigate financial pressures and concerns about whether they have saved enough for later life. More than a quarter (26%) of UK adults are struggling to get by on their current income, slightly up from 24% last year, while two in three (63%) worry they are not saving enough for retirement. Almost half (48%) also say their retirement finances are mainly influenced by factors outside of their control.
However, the research also suggests that the gap is far from fixed. Standard Life analysis finds a strong relationship between financial planning and retirement expectations, with those who have done the most planning facing a gap 4.8 years smaller than those who have done none.
Millennials and Gen Z face the biggest Retirement Expectation Gap
While the average Retirement Expectation Gap is now 5.3 years, it varies sharply across the UK with different groups facing different retirement realities. Women, renters, younger generations, and those living in the North East face some of the widest gaps – all of which have widened over the past year:
- Renters vs homeowners: Renters face a retirement gap of 6.8 years, increasing by 0.7 years in just 12 months. This is more than three times the 2.1-year gap among those who own their home outright and more than a year longer than the 5.7-year gap for mortgage holders.
- Growing gender gap: Women’s retirement gap has widened from 5.4 years in 2025 to 6.1 years today, while men’s has increased from 4.1 to 4.5 years. This means women now face a retirement gap almost 40% larger.
- Younger generations face the largest gaps: Millennials and Gen Z face retirement gaps of 6.8 years and 5.9 years respectively, the largest of any generation, and want to retire earliest at 61 and 60 respectively.
- The regional divide: The North East has the widest regional retirement gap at 6.6 years, while Greater London has the narrowest at 3.8 years. The East Midlands (6.2 years), Wales (6.1 years) and South East (6.0 years) also have gaps of six years or more.
Working longer may not be realistic for everyone
The data suggests that people are not only concerned that their ideal retirement age is slipping further away, but that working longer may not always be an option. While 51% expect they will need to work beyond State Pension age, almost one in five (18%) say they would be unable to continue in their current role past 60, and almost half (47%) say they could not continue working in the same role beyond 70.
Pessimism about life after work is also growing, with over half (51%) worrying whether their finances will last throughout retirement and two-fifths (42%) expecting their standard of living in retirement to be worse than it is today.
Yet despite these fears, just 12% of people are prioritising pension saving – down from 15% last year – and more than a third (35%) have done no retirement planning whatsoever, rising to 39% of millennials and 40% of Gen Z – the two age groups that want to retire the earliest.
Those who plan more have a narrower gap – even on the lowest incomes
Standard Life’s analysis shows a clear relationship between retirement planning and the Retirement Expectation Gap. Those who have done ‘a great deal’ of retirement planning have a gap of just 2.5 years, compared with 7.3 years among those who have done none.
Even among those on the lowest household incomes (under £30,000), people who have engaged in financial planning expect to retire 1.6 years earlier than those who have done none, and more than two years earlier than non-planners earning £30,000 - £100,000. Among the highest earners (over £100,000), those who have planned have a gap of just 0.6 years, compared with 5.1 years among those who have not.
Starting early can also make a significant difference. Someone who starts work at 22 on a salary of £30,000 and pays minimum auto-enrolment contributions (5% employee, 3% employer) could build a £252,000 pension pot by 68 in today’s prices. However, increasing contributions by three percentage points could allow them to retire at 62 – their preferred retirement age – with a slightly larger £270,000 pot, allowing for inflation. While this could help bring retirement plans closer to reality, retiring earlier also means potentially funding a longer retirement and bridging the gap until State Pension income starts, making forward planning all the more important.
Impact of increasing pension contributions to help close the five-year Retirement Expectation Gap2:
| Size of contributions and retirement age: | Minimum contributions of 5% employee and 3% employer, retiring at 68 | Contributions of 8% employee and 3% employer, retiring at 62 | Contributions of 8% employee and 3% employer, retiring at 68 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total value of pension pot at retirement*: | £252,000 | £270,000 | £347,000 |
| Increase vs. minimum contributions: | +£18,000 | +£95,000 |
*Assuming 3.50% salary growth per year, and 5% a year investment growth. Figures account for 2% inflation. Annual Management Charge of 0.75% assumed. The figures are an illustration and are not guaranteed. Earning limits not applied. Pensions can go down as well as up and are not guaranteed.
Catherine Foot, Director of the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, commented:
This year’s Retirement Voice findings point to a noticeable shift in how people are feeling about retirement. The age people would ideally like to retire hasn’t changed, but the point at which they think they will actually be able to stop work is drifting further away. That is happening as the State Pension age itself begins its phased rise from 66 to 67, and against a backdrop of renewed pressure on household finances and a wider sense of economic and global uncertainty. Together, these factors risk making retirement feel less certain and more distant, rather than a milestone people can plan towards with confidence.
The gaps matter too. Renters, women and younger generations, as well as those living in the North East, are among those furthest from the retirement they would ideally like, while many people also question whether working into their late 60s or beyond will be physically or practically possible. As the State Pension age rises, that should be an important consideration for policymakers. A sustainable retirement system cannot simply assume that everyone will be able to solve an adequacy problem by working for longer.
There is, however, a positive message for individuals. The findings show a very clear relationship between planning and people’s retirement expectations, even among those on lower incomes. Starting earlier, understanding what you already have and, where affordable, increasing pension contributions can make a meaningful difference. For many people, relatively modest action now could help bring the retirement they want considerably closer.
At the same time, individual action can only go so far, and this report underlines the scale of the opportunity presented by the next stage of the Pensions Commission to shape the adequacy of pension saving and consider the long-term future of the UK’s pension system. Employers also need to consider how careers can become more flexible as working lives lengthen. The goal should be a system that gives people greater confidence and is fair to the people who live with it, giving them choice over when and how they retire, rather than having a later retirement as the default because they feel they have no alternative.
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Notes to editors:
1 Standard Life Retirement Voice 2026
Research conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Standard Life in June 2026. In total 6000 participants took part in the online survey. Participants were aged 18-80 and were a mix of working, unemployed and retired people. Quotas and weights were used to ensure the respondents were representative of the UK general population on age, gender and region.
2 Calculations assume the following:
| Starting salary | £30,000 |
| Starting Age | 22 |
| Salary Growth | 3.50% |
| Investment Growth | 5% |
| Annual Investment Charge | 0.75% |
And 2% inflation.
% increase in contributions refers to percentage points of qualifying salary.
Calculations are intended only for the sole purpose of providing an illustration regarding the projection of savings and pensions. They should not be used with the intention to give an accurate representation of real-world outcomes.
About Standard Life
Standard Life is a retirement specialist focused entirely on retirement saving and income.
We are proud to manage around c£317bn in assets on behalf of our 12 million customers, and we champion the belief that everyone's journey to and through retirement can be better.
With our focus entirely on retirement savings and income we want to be the business that people trust to guide their retirement journey, helping our customers achieve better outcomes and greater financial security in later life.
As a FTSE 100-listed group we are using our size, expertise and influence to shape the world our customers will retire into, and are committed to helping three million more customers by 2035, take action towards a better retirement.
Standard Life is a responsible investor with a clear commitment to supporting a more sustainable future. The Group has achieved its net zero goal across its emissions for 2025 and is working towards net zero investment portfolios by 2050 or sooner.
Standard Life is recognised as a leading employer, with long-standing accreditation as a Living Wage Employer, Living Pension Employer and Carer Positive Exemplary Employer and in 2025 became one of Britain’s Most Admired Companies in 2025.