The majority (60%) of UK adults are not confident they’ll have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, according to a new study.

Only a third (34%) said they felt they would have enough money while 6% admitted they are unsure what their financial future will look like.

The results come from the second retirement confidence index from platform Nucleus, following the first published in November 2023.

According to the research 22% of adults reckon they’ll need between £20,000 and £30,000 a year for a comfortable retirement.

However that falls significantly short of the PLSA’s definition of ‘comfortable’, which estimates that a person would need an income of £43,100 to achieve the desired lifestyle.

Respondents were downbeat about the state pension with just under half (44%) saying their believed that the state pension will not exist in the future.

Meanwhile two-fifths (39%) said they were not contributing to their pension provision.

Last year’s index reported that people aged 50 and over had a confidence score of 6.9 out of 10. The new report has widened the age demographic of respondents and enlarged the sample size. The updates results revealed an overall confidence score of just 4.6 out of 10.

More topically, the survey asked respondents how the recent Budget impacted their confidence. More than a quarter said they were either slightly less or much less confident about their Financial Planning retirement prospects following the Budget.

One of the assumptions in the study is that people will be mortgage free by retirement. The research suggests many do not share that assumption with 28% citing rent and mortgage payments as one of the main reasons preventing them from saving more into a pension.

High house prices, delayed ownership and other financial challenges may significantly impact the chances of future retirees owning their property outright.

Other factors preventing people from saving more for later life included paying off debt (18%), and saving to start or support a family (10%). 

Andrew Tully, technical services director at Nucleus, said: “Broadening the study for this year’s research has shone a light on the challenges different generations face when it comes to feeling confident about their financial future.

“One message that comes through loud and clear from our findings is that people need to start planning and saving for later life much, much earlier.”

• The research was carried out online by YouGov between 17 and 19 September among a sample of 4,318 UK adults aged 18 and over. YouGov also carried out follow-up research between 1 and 4 November 2024 among 2,181 adults, testing confidence in light of the Budget on 30 October.