People in their 60s are being warned they could face a growing retirement crisis, with almost one in three financially insecure and more than 900,000 households missing out on Pension Credit worth more than £2 billion.
The Centre for Ageing Better is calling for urgent action to improve support for people approaching retirement, including greater use of technology to make it easier to claim Pension Credit.
Its latest Tale of Two 60s report warns that 29% of people aged 60 to 69 are in financially precarious circumstances, with the number expected to rise to more than 2 million within the next decade without intervention.
The charity says more than 1.8 million people aged 60 to 69 are already financially insecure, either entering or on the cusp of retirement.
It wants the Government to move towards more automatic take-up of Pension Credit, using data matching and pre-filled claims to make it easier for eligible households to receive the support.
Pension Credit can provide a vital boost to the incomes of older people on a low income, but awareness, bureaucracy and stigma are among the reasons why many eligible households do not claim.
Those struggling are less able to prepare for retirement
The report highlights a stark divide between financially secure people in their 60s and those struggling to make ends meet.
People classed as financially precarious are:
- Only half as likely to be in work as financially secure people their age
- More than three times as likely to have caring as their main activity
- More than four times as likely to have fair or poor health
- Far less likely to have a workplace pension
- Only half as likely to own their home, meaning they are more likely to continue paying rent or a mortgage
The Centre for Ageing Better says these pressures make it much harder for people to save for retirement, creating a cycle in which financial insecurity makes it harder to prepare for later life.
Henry Allingham, Research and Evaluation Manager at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “A large minority of people in their 60s are finding themselves trapped in a vicious cycle of financial precarity causing under-preparation for later life, which leaves them falling into deepening hardship.
“Persistent short-term financial pressures act as insurmountable barriers to saving for the most financially insecure, preventing people from engaging in long-term planning around finances as they are conditioned to focus purely on short-term survival.”
He added: “More support is needed to ensure people are equipped to understand and prepare for the potential outcomes of later life.”
Calls for Pension Credit to become easier to claim
The charity says improving Pension Credit take-up could provide a relatively immediate lifeline for people already facing financial insecurity.
More than 900,000 households are estimated to be missing out on more than £2 billion in Pension Credit.
The Centre for Ageing Better wants the Government to move towards automatic take-up by using existing data to identify people who may be eligible, alongside pre-filled claims.
Dr Andrea Barry, Deputy Director for Work, Retirement and Transitions at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “Improving take-up of Pension Credit is one relatively immediate measure that could prove to be a valuable lifeline for those enduring financial insecurity now.”
But she warned the problem goes beyond today's retirees.
“But the issue will require a long-term focus as well because there is a further and larger crisis of under-preparation for later life coming down the tracks,” she said.
“There is a perfect storm for growing pensioner poverty growing with future cohorts not adequately planning and saving for later life, rising numbers of private renters approaching later life and increases to the state pension age.”
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More help needed before people reach retirement
The report calls for better financial guidance in mid-life, particularly for people who are not in secure employment or are self-employed.
It says employers should provide more support and guidance during mid-life, while the Department for Work and Pensions should make similar support more widely available to people who are not working or are self-employed.
The charity also wants people in their 60s who rely on state income alone to be given greater consideration in future pension policy.
Dr Barry said: “The government should ensure people have the information they need to plan for later life.”
HMRC issues warning about State Pension mistake millions have already made https://t.co/gRXoIxucZs https://t.co/5m6eMstLpU
— Telegraph & Argus (@Bradford_TandA) September 14, 2026
She added: “Our research participants highlight the significant appetite there is for support to prepare. Many of the people we spoke to not only expressed a strong desire for more support but were disappointed they had not received it. For this group there was a sense that they had been forgotten.”
The Centre for Ageing Better says people should be prompted to check their pension and financial position at key points in their lives, including when they leave work, reduce their hours or take on caring responsibilities.
It also wants State Pension record checks to be made easier to identify and complete.
The research looks at how life for people aged 60 to 69 has changed between 2002–03 and 2023–24, using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing alongside interviews with people most at risk of financial insecurity.
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