Retirement

Part of the Life Well Spent Report 2025

Does retirement make us happier? It would seem so – but what is it that makes retirement such a happy time for so many?

Happiness and retirement

As we’ve seen in our section on happiness, retiring improves people’s happiness. 65% of those who’ve retired say they are happier in the long term (1% down since 2024, and 2% down since our first report in 2022), and 63% in the short term (down 3% since 2024, and 1% since our first report).

And like last year, only 1 in 10 say they feel less happy since retiring.

How retirement affects happiness...

The average retirement age is 61

Like last year, the average age of retirement is 61 – but once again, retirees wish they could have retired a year earlier at age 60. For those not yet retired, they would like to retire at an average age of 65 years old (also the same as in 2024).

Over half (54%) of respondents who are retired did so before reaching the State Pension age – 2% more than in our first report in 2022. And like in 2022, around 1 in 10 delayed their retirement to continue working full time.

In fact, when we take into account those who delayed retirement to work both full and part time, it amounts to 17% of people in 2025.

Interestingly, there’s no major difference in retirement age between the unhappiest and the happiest people.

However, men retire earlier on average, with 62% (up 4% since 2024) retiring before State Pension age, compared to 46% (-3%) of women. This correlates with the fact that our data shows 30% of women over 50 have no private pension savings, compared to just 21% of men.

What age people retired at

What age people retired at: men vs women

Did you retire at the right age?

Like in 2024, 3 in 4 retirees feel they retired at the right age – rising to 83% for the happiest people (-1% since 2024). But 16% feel they retired too early – 2% down since 2024. And over 1 in 4 (26%) of retirees only have a State Pension.

Most people are planning to retire early

Of those yet to retire, 32% plan to retire before reaching the State Pension age, 8% more than last year. 36% (-1%) plan to retire at the State Pension age. And 32% (up 2% since 2024) would like to delay retirement and continue working – 15% (-3%) part time, and 17% (-1%) full time.

The unhappiest people are the most likely to delay retirement to continue working full time, with 20% saying this is their plan – compared to 16% of the happiest people.

If money wasn’t an issue, 65% of people who are yet to retire would like to retire early to pursue their hobbies – 10% up since 2024. 35% would continue working either full or part time, compared to 45% last year.

When are people planning to retire?

If money was no object...

Thoughts on work and retirement

Those who’ve retired say they enjoy having more time to do what they want, not having to answer to anyone, and spending time with loved ones.

But this doesn’t mean that those who haven’t retired are unhappy with their jobs. On the contrary, over two thirds of working people are positive about their job, with 2 in 5 saying their work gives them purpose. Meanwhile, some who are retired report feeling lonely or bored, and not having as much money coming in.