Britons have concerns about how they will be able to manage their money after they retire, new research reveals.

A study carried out by Axa indicated that just over two-thirds (68 per cent) of working consumers think that reforms to the retirement sector are set to take place over the next ten years. Meanwhile, more than half of those people who have already retired believe that such changes are to occur. Following on from such moves, 71 per cent of consumers think that a reworking of the retirement sector will mean that public pension benefits are set to diminish, in comparison to an international average of just 57 per cent of consumers.

Research from the financial services provider also showed that 19 per cent of retired consumers think that the social security sector is to face decline, with this proportion rising to 29 per cent among working Britons. It was also revealed that some 91 per cent of people think that they will now have to work for a longer period of time in order to save sufficiently for retirement.

Following on from a lack of sufficient savings, it may be possible that consumers struggle with managing their finances as they get older. This may lead to them developing problems in meeting the cost of property repairs, making repayments on personal loans or paying back higher than expected utility bills.

In spite of such concerns however, 64 per cent of current retirees believe that they have money to manage sufficiently after giving up work. Such a figure represents an increase from the 57 per cent recorded during the same study by the financial provider carried out in 2007.

However, 83 per cent of those Britons who are retired state they are enjoying a greater post-work lifestyle than their parents did during the same stage in their retirement. Meanwhile, just 40 per cent of respondents think that their children will have a better future in retirement than they will.

Commenting on the figures, Steve Folkard, head of pensions and savings policy for Axa, said: “Some people have negative thoughts of retirement and it is not surprising that feelings of trepidation are heightened in the current financial climate. The research shows that a significant number of people are sure that retirement reform will lead to reduced public pension benefit and with this in mind, we would advise people to take steps as early as possible to secure their own retirement income. Although the majority of retirees say that their retirement income is sufficient, people still in work should be aware that having a happy and prosperous retirement costs money, so it’s vital they plan ahead.”

For those people with concerns about their ability to save sufficient levels of money for their life in retirement, taking out a cheap loan might be of assistance. Although this represents another source of financial demand, by using such a loan as a means of debt consolidation consumers could discover that they are able to meet numerous constraints on their spending at once. By merging the likes of credit card bills and outstanding mortgage and personal loan repayments into a single low-cost outgoing, borrowers might find that they are left with more disposable income each month. This may allow them to invest more cash into a retirement plan. Furthermore, a debt consolidation loan might be of help to those struggling to put money into savings schemes as a whole.

Last month, research carried out by Alliance & Leicester indicated that just over half (52 per cent) of Britons have money that they claim they intend to put into savings lying around in a normal current account. It was also revealed that six per cent of consumers have money set aside for later life in cash rather than invested into any type of monetary vehicle.

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