Small business retirement hopes edge closer

Retirement prospects for small business owners have improved over the last quarter, new figures suggest.

Although three quarters of business owners still think retirement is further away now than it was a year ago, this figure has come down from 80%, according to the latest Clifton Asset Management survey.

The quarterly report revealed that tougher trading and market conditions were the biggest reason cited by small business owners on why retirement is being delayed. This was followed by declining property and pension values at 23%.

“How people view their retirement prospects is a crucial part of our survey, so a fall – albeit small – in the number of business owners who see retirement moving further away has to be good news,” said Neil Greenaway, managing director of Clifton Asset Management.
 
“We are now officially out of recession and no doubt this affects how people see their retirement prospects, although the wide variations between different parts of the country highlight how some regions are performing better than others.”

Business owners in the East Midlands were the least confident of retirement prospects. Nine out of 10 said retirement prospects were more distant – a 7% rise. However, there was a 13% drop for those in the South West.

In terms of optimism for the recovery, London business owners are the most hopeful. Some 70% believe their region is better placed than the UK as a whole for economic recovery. Wales and the North East are the least optimistic, with 25% and 29% respectively.

© Crimson Business Ltd. 2010