This LinkedIn News UK article highlights that State pensions to cost more than education, policing and defence combined, according to analysis of official figures by The Times.

https://lnkd.in/dmtnh8k3

Pension costs have risen sharply for years because of the government’s “triple lock”, the mechanism by which pensions rise by whichever is higher of the annual increase in average earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent.
 
To individuals the ‘triple lock’ means that state pension will always increase ‘fairly’ and due to high inflation in the last few years we have seen 10% increases in what individuals are paid in state pension.
 
This is good news for those receiving and relying on state pension, as they receive increased payments each year.
 
But that continued increase is clearly going to take its toll on the national economy.
 
Are you part of the 30% that don’t think state pension will be here in 30 years?
 
Below is an infographic showing how state pension has increase at an individual level over the passed 5 years, this illustrates two things:
 
1.  How the increase in payments for each individual equate to a higher national spend (£1,833 per person increase in just 5 years).

2.  Can you live off the equivalent of this in the future when you reach retirement age?
 
We will have keen eyes each year on how the government approach this increasing cost to the UK, and with an election next year will we see big changes? Unfortunately, we don’t have a crystal ball to predict these things.
 
What we do know (according to the data in this article) is that 15% of people are not expecting to retire until their seventies, and 13% of people don’t expect to retire at all.
 
As financial advisers, we at TP Financial Solutions strongly encourage those that we speak to, to make private pension provision as early as possible. Make it part of your norm. And understand the reason you need to do that; will state pension give you the retirement you’d like?