The Coronavirus pandemic has led to more than one in ten (12%) of mass affluent clients to consider taking, or taken, early retirement in the past three months, according to new research.

This compared to 4% of the general population according to the new LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Monitor.

The research defined mass affluent consumers as those with assets between £100,000 and £500,000 excluding property.

Mass affluent consumers were also twice as likely (20%) to be planning to use the value of their homes to fund retirement compared to the general population. Mass affluent women were three times more likely to be planning to use the value of their home to help fund their retirement (33% v 11%).

One in ten mass affluent consumers said they are struggling financially and nearby one in five (19%) said they are seeing a decrease in income from work.

Almost a quarter (24%) of mass affluent consumers have increased the amount they are saving in the past three months compared to 19% of the general population. However, only 6% have added more to their pensions.

Retirement and protection provider LV= launched the new monitor today to track consumers’ attitudes to their finances and wellbeing. The monitor surveys 4,000 general UK consumers on a quarterly basis.

Clive Bolton, managing director of savings and retirement at LV=, said: “The coronavirus outbreak has changed life in a way that is almost unimaginable. Lockdown, job furloughs and stock market crashes have all combined to make the future uncertain. We are living in an age of disruption and never has good-quality financial advice been so valuable.

“The LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Monitor will track consumers’ financial confidence, health and attitudes to spending, saving and wellbeing.  During the summer, loosening of lockdown restrictions led to an increasing in consumer spending, a reduction in saving and an increase in spending on socialising. The monitor, for example, highlights how wealthier consumers are becoming increasingly interested in early retirement and using their property to fund retirement. Future waves of research will reveal how these trends change, how they are affected by regional lockdowns and how worried or optimistic people are about the future.

“Early retirement is a dream for most people and it is perhaps surprising that the coronavirus outbreak is sparking a rise in interest in early retirement. However, taking early retirement can be expensive and complex.

“Savers need to be aware of drawing too much income too early and exhausting their pension funds before they die. They need also to understand how a stock market downturn can erode their retirement funds because of sequence or returns risks.

“Running out of cash in retirement is one of the greatest fears of retired people and drawing an income from a pension fund as the stock market falls can lead to a pension fund becoming exhausted much earlier than anticipated.

“This is why good quality financial advice is so important. Consulting a financial adviser will help mass affluent people considering retirement make best use of their income, savings, pensions and equity in their home. It could be, for example, a pension fund can be used to pay for the early years of retirement while equity release can be used at a much later stage in life.”