• Annual average household expenditure is estimated to be £35,771
• The corresponding figure for a household where the main occupant is 65 – 74 is £23,574 and £15,052 where they are aged 75 and over

Despite the latest annual CPI inflation rate falling to 3.6%, MGM Advantage, the retirement income specialist, estimates that collectively UK households still need to find an extra £33 billion¹ to maintain the same standard of living enjoyed 12 months ago.  For households where the main occupant is aged 65 -74, the corresponding figure is £2.8 billion and where they are aged 75 and over, it is £1.85 billion. To maintain the same living standards as a year ago, the UK would need to spend an estimated additional £524 per person.

MGM Advantage estimates that a typical UK household would need to spend an extra £1,243 a year to maintain their standard of living from a year ago.  The corresponding figure for households where the main occupant is aged 65-74 is £819, and for older households it is £523.

Aston Goodey, Sales and Marketing Director, MGM Advantage comments: “With the average length of time in retirement growing, inflation will have one of the biggest impacts on the retirement nation’s financial health.  Retirees’ are disproportionately affected as they spend more of their income on food and fuel, the costs of which are rising faster than the headline rate.  This challenging climate has created a strong demand for alternative retirement income solutions that can provide some protection against high inflation and the rising cost of living.

“Our Flexible Income Annuity, which offers both flexibility and potential for investment growth, continues to grow in popularity as more people begin to understand they need to guard against the impact of both high inflation and falling annuity rates.”

MGM Advantage recently published a report: Our Retirement Nation which revealed that nearly a fifth (19%)³ of non-retired people were unaware of the negative impact of inflation, while over half (54%) were not aware of any way of off-setting it.  For further details please go to: http://www.mgmadvantage.co.uk/category/retirement-nation/ 

-Ends- 

Notes to editors

1. Based on MGM Advantage analysis of ONS Family Spending Report 2011 and Consumer Price Index.

2. Based on ONS population statistics.

3. Research conducted by Research Plus with 2086 UK adults aged 55+, published in December 2011.

 

For further information

MGM Advantage, Head of Media Relations

Paul Keeble                             07833 085387 paul.keeble@mgmadvantage.com