Populus Poll

Retirement preferences

• Almost half (46%) of Saga respondents working full time would like to stop work before reaching the retirement age, while two fifths (39%) would like to continue beyond state retirement age. This proportion decreases with age; close to two thirds (63%) of respondents aged 50-59 want to stop work early compared to roughly one third (35%) of respondents aged 60-69.
• Three quarters of working respondents would prefer to stage their retirement by working part-time before stopping (73%), while one quarter want to stop work completely (27%). Of respondents working full-time, almost four fifths (78%) would welcome the opportunity to work part-time before retiring if it was possible with their current employer.
• Three-in-ten (30%) Saga respondents working full-time who would like to move to part-time before retirement see this as unlikely to happen.
• The desire to continue earning money (74%) and retain an active mind (66%) are the most common reasons Saga respondents want to work past state retirement age. Female respondents are nearly twice as likely (58%) to say they cannot afford to stop working as male respondents (33%).
• The majority of Saga respondents working full-time or part-time feel comfortable discussing with their employer both the date they would like to retire (89%) and the possibility of moving to part-time work before retiring completely (84%). Concern that their employer will think badly of them if they ask about retirement or cutting back hours is low (16%), but rises to three-in-ten for Londoners (28%).
• Over one third of working respondents (35%) feel it is not their employer’s role to prepare them for retirement. Working DE respondents are the most likely to agree their employers are doing nothing (40%) and to disagree that their employer is doing enough (16%).
• When asked if there was enough support available to help them plan for retirement, more respondents agree (41% yes) than disagree (29%). The proportion that agree increases with age: over half (52%) of respondents aged 70-79 agree and one fifth (21%) disagree.

Social Media

• YouTube (73%) and Google+ (64%) are the most used online social media platforms by Saga respondents, while the majority have no interest in using Snapchat (94%), Instagram (86%), Pinterest (81%), Twitter (80%), LinkedIn (72%), or WhatsApp (56%).
• Female respondents have both used (64%) and are more likely to consider using (66%) Facebook than their male counterparts (53% and 55% respectively).
• Of all the Saga respondents who use social media, half cite keeping in touch with family (51%) as the main reasons for doing so. This plays a more significant role for female respondents than male respondents (59% vs 45% respectively). The use of social media for fun increases as social class decreases, with over a third of DE respondents (35%) citing this factor compared to one fifth (22%) of AB respondents.

Perception of over 50s

• Over a third of Saga respondents think that ‘old-fashioned’ (38%) and ‘old’ (35%) best describe how young people perceive over 50s.
• The majority of Saga respondents (72%) felt that turning 50 was ‘just another birthday’, while twice as many women than men were dreading turning 50 (13% and 6%, respectively).
• Nearly two thirds of Saga respondents agree that being over 50 feels no different to being under 50 (63%). When compared to other age groups, respondents aged 50-59 are more likely to disagree that they are having the time of their lives being over 50 (24%), and more likely to agree that they feel old at over 50 (22%).

Money Matters

• Three-in-ten Saga respondents (29%) think that the FTSE 100 index will be between 7301 and 7500 at the end of 2018.
• A third of respondents (33%) think the Bank of England base rate will be between 0.75% and 1% by the end of 2018.
• Saga respondents are not in agreement on what they think the rate of inflation will be by the end of 2018; with responses evenly split into fifths. A quarter of male respondents (25%) estimate an inflation rate below 0.25% compared to one-in-ten female respondents (13%).
• A third of Saga respondents (32%) expect to buy no Christmas presents online this year. 12%, however, say they will buy all of their presents online.

Populus interviewed 9,874 Saga respondents, all aged 50+ online between 21st and 27th November 2017. Populus is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules; for more information www.populus.co.uk.