UK pensions: how much do you need to retire as the cost of living soars?

theguardian.com:

T he cost of living crisis is turning into a cost of retirement crisis as rising food and energy prices mean the amount of money you need to retire at a minimum living standard has increased by almost £2,000 in the last year.

In 2022 the minimum required to survive as a single pensioner jumped by 18% to £12,800 a year. Meanwhile, a retired couple now need a minimum of £19,900 a year – up £3,200, an even bigger rise of 19%, according to a study funded by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) at Loughborough University.

While this month the full new state pension rose from £9,627 a year to £10,600, the figures from the research suggest that millions of people will not have enough money to cover their day-to-day living costs.

Don’t despair (well, not completely), however. There are a number of steps you can take now, even if you are in your 50s, to avoid poverty in retirement.

First, let’s establish how much money you will need in your retirement, then work out how to get there (and the extra you will need if you want to retire early).

Researchers at Loughborough’s Centre for Research in Social Policy have created a set of “retirement living standards” that have swiftly become the industry benchmark for what pensioners really need in retirement.

Its researchers say that the minimum standard of income you currently need as a single person is £12,800, or £19,900 for a couple, according to the 2022 figures published at the start of this year.

This figure is the same as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s minimum income standard and reflects what the public thinks is required to cover a retiree’s needs, not only to survive but to live with dignity, including social and cultural participation.

However, this is a minimum,