Speaking at The Mortgage Event in Reading today, Mirfin, group director of Key Retirement Solutions told delegates the majority of firms are targeting the 55-59 age group, where a minority of business being conducted.
According to Mirfin only 4% of business is done in this age group, compared with 60% of business in the 65-74 bracket.
“People in the lead up to retirement are unsure of the choices and options that they’ve got. Typically, a lot of people want to wait to the point of retirement or beyond because only then do they know where they are financially. This is where firms should be looking to pick up business.
“Firms need to look more closely at people aged 65 and over because this is the group that is running out of cash.”
Mirfin told delegates that 50% of retired Americans returned to work after the US markets collapsed. He said the cycle of people returning to work is slowly emerging in the UK.
“The trend is becoming evident in the UK because people are allowed to work beyond age 65, following the change in legislation.
“In addition, people are in a position, either through choice or through monetary need where the concept of retirement at a specified date and age is going to start to change. We’re beginning to see a cycle of people returning to work in retirement because their finances aren’t healthy enough. We may even begin to see people never leave work.”
For further analysis, watch Dean Mirfin’s interview with Mortgage Solution’s Simret Samra
