Populus Poll

Regional Airports

• Half of Saga respondents (51%) prefer to fly from regional airports, a similar proportion (52%) would change airlines in order to do so.
• Respondents in the North East are most likely to prefer regional airports (74%) and are most willing to pay more to use airports local to them (64%). Those in London are least likely to choose to fly from regional airports (20%).
• Few Saga respondents (23%) would change their destination in order to fly from a regional airport, with the highest proportion willing to do so in Northern Ireland (40%).
• Of those that prefer to fly from regional airports the majority mention their proximity (88%) and that they are less busy (73%) as reasons for preference.
• Of those that do not prefer to fly from regional airports, respondents most often say regional airports lack the number of destinations (51%), and that larger airports have better transport links (44%) and better facilities (40%).
• Few (15%) regard regional airports as being tidier than larger airports and only 4% see regional airports as offering better facilities.
• Gatwick Airport (38%) and Heathrow (37%) are the most visited airports by Saga respondents over the last three years. One in five (21%) have flown from Manchester Airport, 14% have flown from London Stansted Airport and the same proportion (14%) have flown from Birmingham Airport. The least frequently visited are Bournemouth Airport (2%), Norwich Airport (2%) and Doncaster Sheffield Airport (2%).
• Although only 2% of Saga respondents have flown from Doncaster Sheffield Airport, it was rated most positively among those that had flown from there, with 90% of Saga travellers rating it good. Luton Airport is most negatively viewed with less than half (45%) rating it favourably.

Multi-generational holidays

• Almost half of Saga respondents (47%) have been on a multi-generational holiday within the last five years, with 16% going away with their children, grandchildren or parents within the last six months. Younger respondents are more likely to have been on holiday with their children, grandchildren or parents within the last 6-12 months than older respondents (19% of 50-59s vs. 12% of 80-89s respectively).
• The majority (75%) of respondents that have taken a multi-generational holiday in the last five years cited a chance to spend time together as the motivation for their holiday. Two fifths celebrated a family occasion (23%) or wanted to go to the same location (21%).
• Over half (56%) of respondents that had taken a multi-generational holiday in the last five years prefer self-catered holidays, three in ten (30%) prefer to stay in a hotel that provide food. The most popular option is a self-catering villa (35%), followed by a self-catered hotel or apartment (21%). A small B&B is the least popular option (1%).
• The majority of Saga respondents (80%) report not having experienced any issues or arguments on any recent holidays taken with their children, grandchildren or parents. The most common disagreement was around activities during the day (9%), the next most common disagreement was around where or what to eat (7%).

Home Maintenance

• Most Saga respondents say their home is in good condition. Just under nine in ten say their plumbing (87%), electrics (87%) and heating (86%) are in good condition. Slightly fewer say their insulation (81%), guttering (81%) and treatment of rot or damp (79%) are in good condition. Only 4% say their insulation is in poor condition and fewer say their guttering (3%), heating (3%) or treatment of rot or damp (3%) are in poor condition.
• Saga respondents with parts of their home in poor condition most commonly say they will pay for repairs through their savings (41%) or out of their regular income or pension (39%).
• The few Saga respondents that don’t intend to repair parts of their home that they say are in poor condition give a range of reasons why, but most often say that they can’t afford the repair (21%) or that the repair will be too much hassle (21%).

Inheritance

• Three fifths (60%) of Saga respondents have received an inheritance.
• Three quarters of Saga respondents (76%) have received an inheritance from their parents. An aunt or uncle (10%) is the next most likely source of an inheritance.
• Three fifths (58%) of Saga respondents that have received an inheritance did not feel comfortable revealing the maximum value of any inheritance they have received. Saga respondents reported receiving a maximum value of inheritance across the spectrum, with just under one in ten saying they have received over £100,00 (9%), between £40,000 and £99,000 (9%), between £20,000 and £39,999 (7%), between £4,501 and £19,999 (9%) and up to £4,500 (8%).
• Younger respondents are more likely than older respondents to have inherited a larger sum, especially over £100,000 (10% of 60-69s vs. 5% of 80-89s).
• Two fifths (41%) of Saga respondents that have received an inheritance report being pleasantly surprised by the value. Only 4% reported being unhappy with the value. A similar proportion (4%) said they were worried about what others would think of them receiving it.
• Two fifths of those that have received an inheritance have either invested the money (39%) or put it into savings (43%). Only 1% used their inheritance to start a new business.
• In deciding what to do with their inheritance over half (56%) discussed it with their spouse or partner. Two fifths (40%) decided independently, and only 12% consulted a financial advisor.

Household finance

• Half (50%) of Saga respondents make joint financial decisions in their household. Just less than half (46%) say they make the financial decisions themselves. Women are more likely than men to say they make decisions independently (49% vs. 44% respectively).
• Of those that are now widowed or divorced, 65% made joint decisions before they were divorced or widowed. The older generations of Saga respondents that are now divorced or widowed are less likely than younger respondents to have made financial decisions independently in their household when they had a partner (25% 80-89s vs. 31% 50-59 respectively).
• Among Saga respondents who previously made either joint or no financial decisions prior to being widowed or divorced, two thirds are confident about making financial decisions for the first time (63%). A similar proportion sought help from a financial advisor (30%) or friends and family (27%) when making financial decisions for the first time. Women who had to start making independent decisions for the first time after being widowed or divorced are more likely than men to feel worried (30% vs. 19% respectively) or intimidated (17% vs. 11% respectively) about making financial decisions.
• Saga respondents tend to feel more confident making decisions about day-to-day banking and budgeting (94%), insurance (90%) and saving (87%) than they do making decisions about investing (68%) and pensions (69%).
• Men are more likely than women to feel confident in making decisions about investing (74% vs. 60%). More men also have savings in the form of investments than women (68% vs. 57% respectively).
• The vast majority have savings in the form of the property they live in (87%), a similar proportion have cash savings (86%), and slightly fewer have pensions (82%). Three fifths (63%) of Saga respondents have investments.
• Two in five Saga respondents are unwilling to risk their money at all (43%). A further two in five are only willing to take a little risk for the potential of a higher return on their money (44%). Just 1% of respondents are willing to take a lot of risk for the potential of a higher return. Women are more risk averse than men when investing their money, they are more likely to say they would not take any risk (52% vs. 36% respectively). A quarter (25%) of Saga respondents agree that financial services companies make things deliberately complicated to try and confuse people like them, the same proportion (25%) disagree that they find financial services companies easy to deal with. Less than one in five (18%) say financial services companies understand people like them.

Populus interviewed 10,381 Saga respondents, all aged 50+ online between 20 and 27 February 2017. Data was weighted to be nationally representative. Populus is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules; for more information www.populus.co.uk