Splashing around in the gym? You could end up living to an old age, but in poverty

Spending money to stay fit and healthy is a growing priority for many of us, but experts warn that the cost of staying fit can lead to an old age in poverty.

Research by wealth manager Nutmeg reveals that more than half of people prioritize long-term fitness over ensuring they have enough saved.

However, if you were to put the typical £200 a month spent on fitness-related activities such as gym memberships and dietary supplements into a pension, this could fund your retirement needs.

To enjoy a “moderate” lifestyle in old age you need an annual income of £31,300, according to the Pensions and Life Savings Association. For a married couple this is £43,100.

The average life expectancy of a man is 85 years and that of a woman is 88 years. An individual must save at least £400,000 to purchase an annuity to reach this level.

This is where you give a company a lump sum of your pension in exchange for an annual income until you die. The calculations assume that you also receive a full state pension.

But setting aside £200 a month for 40 years, with an average return of 6 per cent a year when investing in stocks and shares, gives you a total of £402,481, according to Nutmeg’s compound interest calculator.

Claire Exley, head of financial advice at Nutmeg, says: “More and more of us are adopting a healthier lifestyle to improve our longevity, but this rarely extends to financial planning.”

Adults are five times more likely to focus on longevity of health than longevity of wealth, but they need to better prioritize their finances.’ He adds: ‘The inertia of retirement being too far in the future is a key factor.

Smart planning with regular savings from the beginning can make a big difference in achieving an affordable retirement. Talking to an advisor about your lifestyle goals and the steps you can take to achieve them are options to consider.’

Nutmeg asked 2,015 people about their health and financial priorities. About 51 percent said they “prioritize physical longevity” compared to 9 percent who focus on “financial longevity.” It found that more than a third of us (37 percent) would advise our younger selves to consider future wealth as well as health.

Some 42 per cent of respondents admitted they were not saving enough for old age and one in five did not know how much they were contributing to a pension. One in 12 of us hopes an inheritance will solve financial problems in old age, while another 8 percent hope to win the lottery.

Kate Reeve, 42, from Wimbledon in London, is one of a growing group focusing on staying fit in old age rather than worrying about long-term financial security. After his father died at age 75 last year, he decided his priorities had to change.

This married mother says: ‘Being active is a very important part of my life. I go to the gym four times a week and often try new diets. A gym membership alone costs £75 a month, while the cost of a personal trainer is an additional £200 a month.’

The marketing company’s CEO adds: ‘While I’m very interested in taking care of my body, when it comes to my finances I’m not in such good shape. Having seen how clever my father was at budgeting and listening to his advice, I am now going to be more wealth conscious.’

Kate says she is not ready to give up her gym or her personal trainer, but will cut back elsewhere so she can save up to £1,000 a month in her business and private pension to achieve her retirement goal. And she adds: ‘My husband and I paid off our mortgage last year. “Now I can focus on not only staying active as I get older, but also having the funds to enjoy it.”

Wealth manager Bowmore Asset Management has found that three quarters of all defined pension funds that matured last year were worth less than £50,000, while only 5 per cent had assets worth more than £250,000. Most people have several pension funds throughout their working lives because they hold up to a dozen jobs.

Mark Incledon, chief executive of Bowmore Asset Management, says: ‘The low value of most pension funds shows how savers simply are not saving enough money for a decent retirement. One of the best ways to help yourself is to start saving for your pensions early, even if that means having to sacrifice healthy drinks or going to gyms. With a reasonable amount of income set aside from an early age and using a tax-efficient pension, you can take advantage of compounding long-term investments.’

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has found that “moderate” retirement savings are restrictive and, for a “comfortable” retirement, where an occasional weekend can be enjoyed, an individual needs £43,100 a year, while a couple needs £59,000. .

To achieve this, the association calculated that a total of more than £490,000 as an individual or £560,000 as a couple must be accumulated to purchase an annuity. The annuity money is added to the state pension to get this total.

Mark Smith, head of saver participation at PLSA, says:

“If we’re going to live a longer, healthier life, shouldn’t we also make sure we can financially support our dreams of a good retirement?”