52 is the age of contentment
New research out today can reveal that 52 is the age of contentment
In a survey for Silversurfers of over one thousand people aged over 50, more than half (58%) said that they are more experienced and can deal with many more situations, over a third said they prize their spouse above all else and a quarter feel up to 14 years younger. In fact 45% said they feel more youthful than their parents did at the same age!
There were a lot of other interesting views from Silversurfers.
19% of the over 50s say they haven’t saved enough money for retirement and 18% said they married the wrong person.
• Nearly one fifth of over 50s in retirement could be in a dilemma after failing to save any form of next egg
• 18% said they married the wrong person
• 12% of over 50s save £3,600 per year more than in their 40’s
• A quarter of over 50s feel most content at 52
The top ten regrets of the over 50s were identified in research undertaken by Silversurfers.com
Top Ten Regrets of the Over 50s
1) Nearly a quarter (23%) said they hadn’t seen enough of the world
2) 19% said they didn’t save enough money for retirement (£2.4m)
3) Almost the same amount (18%) said they married the wrong person
4) 17% said they never told their parents how much they meant to them
5) 16% chose the wrong career,
6) 16% said working long hours/spent too much time at work
7) 15% said they didn’t spend enough time with their children
8) 15% claimed they worried too much about what other people thought
9) 15% wished they had learned to play a musical instrument
10) 15% regretted not asking their Grandparents more about their life before they died
But despite these worrying regrets, the over 50s are feeling quite sprightly with a third saying that happiness is more important than money and a quarter revealing they feel most content at the age of 52.
However financially they are not in such good shape.
Nest eggs are getting smaller
Half of the over 50s polled said that financial security is their most important personal goal but only 12% had saved more in their 40s (£3,600). Perhaps surprisingly this age group seems financially unprepared with 28% of over 65s saying they have no nest egg saved.
The 50–55 age group is slightly better off with 25% having saved up to £10,000 and 17% having saved up to £50,000. This isn’t so surprising when you consider that over 2/3rds of the sample where never given any advice on how much to save when they were in their 30s and 40s.
Despite this, they remain optimistic and aspire to travel the world!
Travel is a priority
Of those who have saved something for retirement almost 1/3 would like to spend it on travel while 1 in 5 would use it to retire early. Additionally, almost a quarter (23%) said that their biggest regret was not seeing enough of the world.
This is reflected in the over 50s Bucket List:
1) Just under a quarter would like to cruise the world
2) 17% would like to fly first class
3) 15% dream of living abroad
4) 14% would like to have grandchildren
5) 13% yearn to go on safari in Africa or travel to the USA
6) 12% would like to fall in love again
7) 10% are fond of the idea of swimming with dolphins
8) 10% think of themselves as a novelist and would like to have a book published
9) 9% wish to see their football team win the League
10) 7% see themselves as the boss and would like to run their own company
Martin Lock CEO, Silversurfers.com said: “The over 50s have reached a point where they feel more confident about themselves and indeed almost a quarter feel 14 years younger than their age. We created Silvercard+ to give the over 50s a really user friendly way to benefit from great discounts and maximise their spending power. This group are savvy shoppers, 61% said they double check multi-buy offers in shops to make sure they really do offer better value and that’s why the Silvercard+ offers straightforward money-off discounts. There is no other card that offers such comprehensive discounts, deals and offers for this market. Silvercard+ fulfills an unmet need.
“Silvercard+ is a discount card specifically designed for the over 50s, which gives them access to exclusive offers and deals from retailers, travel companies, airlines, hotels, technology and entertainment companies which have been specifically negotiated for this audience by Silversurfers.com. We know that travel is a high priority so we have some particularly good discounts and offers in this category.”
Silversurfers Silvercard+ is free for a limited period
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