Reader TTS

A NEW RETIREMENT LIVING STANDARDS STUDY FROM THE PENSIONS AND LIFETIME SAVINGS ASSOCIATION (PLSA) HAS LAID BARE WHAT STATE PENSIONERS MUST DO. 15:38, 03 Jun 2025 Millions face a £1,427

shortfall to afford the basics in retirement - with pensioners urged to use personal savings to make up for the gap in funds. A new Retirement Living Standards study from the Pensions and

Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has laid bare what state pensioners must do. Data shows a single person now needs £13,400 a year to achieve a minimum retirement lifestyle. This is £1,427

more than the full state pension, which is set at £11,973 for the 2025 to 2026 tax year. It lets older people spend around £55 per week on groceries, £30 per month eating out, and £12 per

month on takeaways, have a single week-long UK holiday and affords them basic digital access, too. READ MORE UK FACES 'SPANISH SCORCHER' HEATWAVE WITH 31C AS EXACT DATE IT STARTS

ANNOUNCED This includes a TV licence, broadband, and a single streaming service with adverts. It also lets them have around £20 per week for leisure activities. Article continues below It

does not include a car, but includes a free bus pass, £30 monthly for taxis, and £180 annually for three rail journeys. It also affords them up to £450 a year for clothing, a modest £20

budget for each birthday and Christmas gift and offers them just £200 a year for DIY home maintenance. Ed Monk, Associate Director, Fidelity International said: "For those hoping for a

little more in retirement, however, the news is less good. The rise in what it takes to give yourself a moderate standard of living in retirement - let alone a comfortable one - underlines

the importance of providing your own retirement income. "Based on the new PLSA numbers, a comfortable standard of living costs £43,900 of expenditure for a single person. That

translates into a pre-tax retirement income of around £52,000**. That will be simply unattainable for most of us." Article continues below Monk said: "Solutions to funding

retirement may take more innovative thinking as well. Improvements in health mean we can be more active, more social and busier at older ages than in the past. Working longer - hopefully on

terms that suit us - is likely to be part of the answer, especially when combined with sensible saving and financial planning in our working lives. "The earlier people engage, the fewer

compromises they’ll need to make."