While Britain's retirees have long been comforted by state pension "schemes" (as they're known across the pond), in reality, current British workers face many of the same uncertainties as their American working counterparts.
A survey by the U.K.-based National Association of Pension funds indicates that most workers 15 or less years from retirement age really need to boost their retirement benefits by as much as 80 percent if they plan to live a comfortable and increasingly long retirement.
More than a third of workers aged 52 to 64 told survey-takers that they had no idea what amount they'd actually receive in retirement benefit, and 59 percent have not considered their longevity as part of that equation. On average, women in that age group are now living four years longer than in the past – to an average of 88 years – and men are living to about 85, two years longer than traditional life expectancy.
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While state-level pensions are still common, Britain has recently seen a growth in defined contribution-style pension systems not unlike the United States.
As is the case in the United States, private pension companies in the U.K. have been accused of failing to disclose the fees on their investors' retirement funds. Annuities have also become more popular but costs have also increased, lowering overall eventual payouts for retirees.
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