More Teessiders are making plans for their retirement after a gruelling economic year.

New data shows more people are taking advice and  realising they can afford to retire much earlier than they previously thought.

Stockton pensions and retirement planning firm Joslin Rhodes saw a 60% year-on-year uplift in online enquiries, with younger generations prioritising retirement and pensions needs more than ever.

The average age of people enquiring about services decreased to 57 years of age, down from 60 in 2022. The youngest enquiry for retirement planning this year was from a 37-year-old.

Scott Day, Chief Operating Officer at Joslin Rhodes said: “Since the pandemic, we are seeing people reconsidering their careers and starting to think about their retirement plans, particularly those who have been working from home or who were made redundant during Covid.”

“After another tough year on finances with the cost-of-living crisis, it is refreshing to see a shift in much younger people taking action and reaching out to start their retirement plans early."

The data showed that 52% of enquiries were from women, highlighting they are taking the lead in prioritising pensions and retirement plans. This is up from 48% in 2021.

The UK government previously reported that the introduction of automatic enrolment into workplace pensions "has transformed the UK pensions landscape and brought millions of women into pension saving for the very first time".

Scott Day added: “Historically, women have taken the biggest hit to their pensions and finances in terms of planning for the future due to taking maternity leave or going part-time to care for children, especially private pension funds.”

“It is encouraging to see women are becoming increasingly confident when it comes to investing for the future, taking charge of their finances sooner rather than later.

“As we head into 2024, January is often the time when Teessiders are seriously considering putting the dark mornings and daily commute behind them. One question we always ask our clients though is ‘are you retiring to something or from something’?”

“As you would expect, some clients have worked for a company for several years and are tired of doing the same thing, day in and day out. Alternatively, others may be thinking more positively and seeing retirement as an opportunity to do the things that are not possible right now. 

“Despite the challenging times we face, if people start planning, taking stock of what they have now and, more importantly what they want to have in the future, it’s possible they can retire to their best life much sooner than they think.”

Looking ahead to 2024, Joslin Rhodes expects to see an increased focus on estate planning as more people want to protect what they have; most notably due to rising house prices and inheritance tax implications as well as rising care fees and the need to safeguard their homes.