Twenty-eight is the average age a British worker starts saving for retirement, this is five years earlier than the international average age.
This is according to the latest study from insurance giant, AXA that said almost three in four working Brits have started financial preparations for their retirement.
On average, workers in France and Spain do not start saving for retirement until 34 and those in China and Hungary begin to build their pension pot at 35 and 38 respectively.
At 28, British workers are kick-starting their pension pots six years earlier than those who have already retired did.
According to AXA the savings habit is being encouraged in a number of ways. The most common of these is joining a company with a good pension scheme (68 per cent). This is closely followed by getting married or having a serious relationship (45 per cent).
Yet the news is not all good. Almost one in three (29 per cent) who have not started preparing for their retirement do not expect to do so until the age of 47. For those that leave it late, turning 50 is one of the major triggers to do something about it. Both retirees (35 per cent) and workers (43 per cent) said the big birthday was the key reason savings were started.
Steve Folkard, head of pensions and savings policy at AXA commented: “It is encouraging to see that Brits lead the way when it comes to retirement planning but not surprising given that state benefits in the UK provide a very modest retirement income compared with many other countries.
“However, in spite of this, there are still a worrying number of people who have still not started saving into their pension. Young people today think retirement is far off and that pensions are something they do not need to worry about, yet figures do show that the earlier you begin saving the greater the benefits when people hit retirement.”
