Pension pot warning to over-50s who retire early

THE over-50s who retire early will need to return to work to top up their pension pots, a senior Bank of England policymaker has warned.

Catherine Mann, of the bank’s monetary policy committee, responsible for setting interest rates, said those retiring at 55 would need to make sure their retirement savings would ‘match your longevity’.

‘There’s a challenge to making sure that your retirement savings are going to match your longevity,’ she told Bloomberg TV.

Dr Mann expressed fears that a ‘couple of years down the line’ individuals would try to return to the workforce and find it harder to do so, noting there was already ‘a little bit of an indication’ that those who took early retirement were taking up part-time work.

‘I worry that people are going to find that their pensions are not sufficient for their preferred lifestyle and are going to want to come back,’ she said, adding that there may not be enough workers returning to boost the economy.

Getting the estimated 3.6 million retirees aged between 50 and 6 back into work is a key goal for Chancellor Jeremy Hunt as he looks to reverse the shrinking workforce.

He is expected to unveil measures in next week’s Budget to coax staff back to work. Analysts say this could include help with travelling expenses.

Think-tank Phoenix Insights has predicted nearly 2 million over-50s who have left work face a savings shortfall.