Workers in Northern Ireland and North East most at risk of retirement poverty

20 August 2025

• 15.3million at risk of falling short of minimum retirement standards
• Scottish Widows data highlights regional variances across the UK
• Lack of pension confidence deters future saving.

As many as two in five (39%) people in the UK could struggle to cover their basic needs when they reach retirement, however, this is not equal across all parts of the UK.

What the regional retirement picture looks like 

Nearly half (48%) of people in Northern Ireland and the North East are at risk of poverty in retirement, while this drops for those in the South East and East of England, to 34% and 32%, respectively.  

Scottish Widows and Frontier Economics analysed numerous data points against the retirement living standards set by Pensions UK, which help people picture what kind of lifestyle (basic, moderate or comfortable) they could have in retirement.  

Pension planning and financial confidence go hand in hand  

The findings also showed that those who regularly save into their pension are more confident in managing their finances (85%), highlighting the link between pension management and financial confidence.  

However, this isn’t the case for everyone as across the country, with a vast number of people not confident when it comes to pension savings. Those living in Scotland are the least confident, while Londoners show the highest levels. 

Proportion of people who aren’t confident about their pension savings:

• Scotland: 44% 
• North East: 38% 
• Northern Ireland: 37% 
• South East: 36% 
• Yorkshire and the Humber: 36% 
• East Midlands: 36% 
• West Midlands: 36% 
• Wales: 36% 
• East of England: 35% 
• North West: 35% 
• South West: 34% 
• London: 32%

Susan Hope, Scottish Widows Retirement Expert, commented: “The differences between people’s pension prospects across the UK are stark and highlight the scale of the challenge to crack the pensions crisis. Across towns, cities and rural communities, people are facing very different futures, the postcode divide needs to be urgently addressed. We need to equip people with the tools and information they need, to improve their confidence and capability regardless of where they live.

“The everyday pressures on people’s money doesn’t make this an easy task, so helping them to feel empowered to make decisions about their future whether that’s starting a pension, increasing contributions by or simply understanding how much you have saved and what that might look like in the future. Small steps now will make a big difference in the future, and these mustn't be underestimated.”

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Notes

The research was conducted online by YouGov across a total 5,167 nationally representative adults aged 18+ in the UK between 22/01/2025 – 11/02/2025. This included a boost of 445 adults aged 18+ to better understand the retirement prospects of minority ethnic groups, also weighted to be representative of the UK minority ethnic population aged 18+.

About Scottish Widows

Founded in 1815, Scottish Widows is part of Lloyds Banking Group, the UK’s largest digital bank and financial services group. With more than £232bn assets under administration and more than 6 million customers, Scottish Widows’ award-winning product range includes workplace and individual pensions, annuities, life cover, critical illness and income protection, as well as savings and investment products.

More than 2 million customers access Scottish Widows products and services through the Lloyds Bank and Scottish Widows apps, in addition to accessing directly through independent financial advisers. The Scottish Widows Platform is trusted by more than 18,000 advisers and 5,400 advice firms, which manage the pensions and investments of almost 166,000 clients.