Financial regrets, we have a few…

Thousands of people approach retirement with a pile of financial regrets, according to a new survey.

Only one in five believed they had not made any wrong financial decisions, but the majority rued many money errors they had made throughout their lives, according to specialist insurance firm Partnership.

Top of the list of money matters that led to regrets was not saving enough cash for retirement.

Four out of 10 people confessed they had not put enough money into savings.

Another 19% felt they did not start contributing to a pension soon enough, while 15% wished they had not taken on debts.

The other two big regrets were not earning more for 11% of people and making more financial decisions with family and friends (10%).

Foolishness of not saving

Most of these family financial concerns were connected to marrying and then divorcing (7%).

Failed marriages adversely affected the fortunes of 10% of people aged 40 or over.

The over 40s also explained that when they reached their later years they started to realise the foolishness of not saving when younger.

A third of over 40s felt they had not saved as hard as they should have, while 12% had put cash into investments that failed to perform. This made the age group twice as likely to squander money on bad investments than those under 40.

Mark Stopard, head of product development at Partnership, said: “Not saving enough money into a pension was the cited as the biggest regret of all age groups.

“This seemed to arise from not earning enough or failing to understand and manage finances properly.”

Secret cash stashes

Stopard explained the research about family finances was surprising.

“Perhaps the heart rules the head over finances,” he said. “Not only was divorce blamed for the poor state of many people’s finances, but lending money to friends or family that remained unpaid was also a worry for many.”

Meanwhile, a separate study by the Bank of Scotland highlighted that one in 10 Scots married or in a relationship have secret savings that their partners do not know about.

Women (14%) are most likely to hide money from their partners.

Another study, by personal finance provider Ocean Finance, revealed finding out about a partner’s secret debts was the main reason for mistrusting a partner.

And 12% of who found a partner still had joint debts with an ex was also a reason for breaking off a relationship.

To stay updated with more information. Follow us: