THE EU referendum vote has prompted many people approaching retirement to look again at their decisions, it has been suggested.

Research has found nearly one in three people approaching retirement are considering changing their financial plans following the vote to leave the EU.

Around 30 per cent of 55 to 64-year-olds think they will have to make new arrangements - and 37% of these people may delay retirement until the economic picture becomes clearer - Prudential found.

With around half a million people retiring across the UK each year, this could equate to 150,000 of these people changing their financial plans and 55,500 possibly pushing back their retirement.

Recent falls in annuity rates may also be partly behind some people's decisions to go back to the drawing board. When many people retire they can use their pension pot to buy an annuity to give them a fixed income for the rest of their retirement.

However, the pension freedoms introduced in 2015 mean retirees are no longer required to buy an annuity and they generally have a wider range of options.

Prudential's research, carried out during the week after the referendum vote, also found that across different age groups generally, one in five (20%) people think they will need to change their retirement planning and, of these, more than half (51 per cent) think they may retire later.

There's also some evidence that people will look to ramp up their savings amid the uncertainty.

One in six (16%) people surveyed plan to increase their savings, while 58 per cent will continue to save the same amounts - despite low interest rates.

A fifth (20%) also plan to seek financial advice.

Prudential's survey of more than 700 people across the UK also found 36% are concerned about the property market.

Many people, including buy-to-let investors, may be pinning their hopes on the value in their property to help finance their retirement.

And a recent report from Royal London suggested as many as three million working age Britons are relying on their home to fund their retirement - by downsizing to a smaller property.

However, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), the average value of a UK home is still expected to be around £40,000 more in five years' time, according to its projections.

Low interest rates also mean that many people are getting feeble returns on their savings, which could also prompt some to consider working for longer.

:: How can those approaching retirement improve their position in the current economic uncertainty?

Vince Smith-Hughes, Prudential's saving and retirement expert, says many people may well be thinking about their savings and pensions a bit more.

Firstly, he suggests getting an idea of how much money you have and tracking down any "lost" pensions from previous jobs.

Speaking to the Government-backed Pension Wise service could also be a good step.

Smith-Hughes says a financial adviser will also be able to offer help in looking at the best way to draw an income.

:: For many, working for longer is already a reality.

As many as 1.2 million people aged 65-plus are still in employment, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.

Smith-Hughes says: "There are a lot of people now considering working past what would have been considered their state pension age.

"That's due to a combination of things. Some of them are looking at going part-time, perhaps with the same employer, some of them are looking at different employers.

"Some of them are even looking at starting up a business when they get to their state pension age.

"We talk about retirement these days, and we have this idea that one day people are working five days a week, the next day they're retired - it doesn't really happen that way."

  • Business confidence has rebounded after the post-Brexit slump with firms reporting that they are broadly positive about their prospects for the year ahead, a survey shows.

Confidence regained much of the ground it lost in the immediate aftermath of the vote to leave the EU, the YouGov/Cebr UK Economic Index shows.

The index increased to 109.7 in August, meaning it recovered more than half the losses recorded following the referendum when it fell from 112.6 to 105.0, but it is still below pre-vote levels.

The survey of more than 500 organisational decision-makers puts the increase in confidence down to improved expectations for capital investment, revenue from domestic sales and revenue from exports over the next year.

Before the referendum 53 per cent had an optimistic outlook for the next 12 months, a figure which dipped slightly to 46 per cent in July and rose again to 48 per cent in August, while just 23 per cent are pessimistic.

However, the number of businesses that are concerned about the economy over the year ahead almost doubled from 25 per cent in June to 49 per cent in July, and 45 per cent remain pessimistic, according to the latest poll.

Last week the YouGov/Cebr announced that consumer confidence saw its highest month-on-month improvement in three and a half years.

Cebr director Scott Corfe said: “The dust is settling on the EU vote and businesses are showing signs of resilience, for now at least.

“With the post-Brexit panic abating and many indicators signalling a reasonably robust short-term outlook, businesses are suggesting a greater confidence for the coming 12 months when it comes to their own operations.

“However, one red flag in these figures is the level of pessimism about the UK economy that the Brexit vote has engendered in British businesses. If these concerns materialise into reality, businesses could rapidly rein in their investment and hiring plans.”

Stephen Harmston, head of YouGov Reports, said: “For the most part, the panic we saw straight after June 23 has been replaced by calm. In the short term at least, a more positive outlook from businesses and consumers will help grease the wheels of the economy - spurring spending and investment.

“What happens in the longer term is the big mystery. Once the UK shows its hand on Brexit and invokes Article 50 things could change for the worse quickly.

“But as businesses and consumers don’t know when this will happen, they have seemingly decided to just get on with it.”