Those aged 55-64 admit to ‘struggling financially’

As many as 43% of 55-64-year-olds have admitted that they are either ‘struggling financially’ or are ‘up to their necks in debt’.

However, the Aviva report shows that 75% of those in this situation are taking measures to improve their finances by boosting their income or making their money stretch further.

Some of the most common actions being taken by those aged 55+ include:

• Moving outstanding debts to a 0% balance transfer card (cited by 6.5%)
• Selling homemade items, such as confectionary and jewellery (4.7%)
• Taking on additional casual jobs, such as pet sitting, cleaning and gardening (4.5%)
• Renting out property, such as a spare room or parking space (1.6%)

One in twelve (8%) say they have had to delay their retirement or continued to work past retirement age in order to make ends meet.

Alistair McQueen, Head of Savings and Retirement at Aviva, said, “Unfortunately the headline inflation figure – 10.1% in July 2022 – is just an average. Our personal inflation will heavily depend on our own spending patterns.

‘If, for example, you spend more on goods experiencing higher inflation (i.e. food, energy, fuel), your personal inflationary experience may be well above this headline rate. What’s more, The Bank of England currently forecast inflation to hit around 13% in Q4 2022 – but this may increase further as a result of higher than expected figures in July.

‘It’s a worrying picture but it’s encouraging to hear that people are taking matters into their own hands to enhance and protect the money they have.”

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