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Half 'not saved enough to retire'
Less than half of Britons have put enough money aside to do everything they dream of doing when they retire, according to a new survey.
Research carried out by high street bank Abbey reveals that many people aim to be extremely active during their retirement.
Around 44% of those polled said they are planning to take a trip around the world when they stop working, while 17% said they want to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience such as swimming with dolphins or taking a hot air balloon ride across the Serengeti.
One in four said they plan to take up a new sport, 11% want to learn a musical instrument, 4% want to try an extreme activity such as parachuting or bungee jumping, and the same proportion want to learn how to fly.
However, the survey found that only 48% of people who have already retired have saved enough money to do everything they want to do.
And 61% of people who have yet to retire think they will not have a big enough pension pot to fulfil all of their ambitions.
The survey shows people think they will need to have saved an average of £201,000 to retire in comfort, when in reality they will need to have set aside around £400,000 to receive a pension of £20,000 a year.
Among those who have retired, 44% have been out to a bar or pub in the past year, 25% regularly attend classical music concerts, 12% take part in sporting activities, 9% are taking dance classes and the same proportion have been to a rock concert in the past 12 months.
Reza Attar-Zadeh, Abbey's head of savings, said: "Clearly Britons are enjoying their retirement, but it's sad to know that a significant number of retired people didn't save up enough to fulfil their retirement dreams and that over 60% of us don't think we'll have enough savings to enjoy our retirement fully."
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