Pension freedoms to aid holidays of lifetime

Thousands of retirees who plan to take advantage of the pension freedoms will be using funds to splash out on holidays of a lifetime, research suggests. A study from The Association of British Travel Agents showed that 20% of 55-75 year olds would consider taking cash out of their pension and a further 15% were still undecided.Of those considering taking money out of their pension pot, 35% would spend some on a holiday or travel.For those planning to spend on a vacation, six in ten planned to take a 'holiday of a lifetime' and 56% said that they would spend more than usual on a holiday. {desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}Taking a holiday was the most popular option to spend some of this money, followed by home improvements (31%) and paying off existing debts (24%).Survey respondents were most likely to be planning to spend £2,000 – 5,000 on a holiday with over a third (37%) saying they would spend this amount.Some 15% said they would spend between £5,000 and 10,000 and 5% said they would spend over £10,000; single people were twice as likely to consider spending over £10,000.Some 5% of those planning to spend on a holiday say that they would take adult family members with them and 9% would take family members with children.Europe was the most popular destination, with four in ten (41%) stating they would use their money to travel there, followed by North America (22%), Australasia (17%), Asia (10%), Africa (7%), and South America (6%).A quarter (24%) also said they would go on a cruise and this rose to a third (32%) of people in a couple.Former presenter of television holiday show Wish You Were Here, John Carter, said: "When I was presenting the show, the majority of British travellers were heading off to Benidorm, Yugoslavia or France."The world has changed enormously both politically and in terms of ease of travel. There's a travel gap that older people want to fill, not least as they see their children and grand-children travelling the world, and the pension reforms now present a wonderful chance for them to do so."ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer said: "The changes to pension regulations mean that many over 55s may choose to spend some of their pension pot on a holiday. We know that people often celebrate big occasions such as anniversaries, birthdays or retirement with a holiday so it's perhaps no surprise to see travel topping the list of items pensioners may spend some of their money on."Debbie Marshall, managing director of Silver Travel Advisor, said: "Pension reforms are unlikely to result in a flurry of pensioners with a suntan and an empty bank account. However, research shows that hundreds of thousands of pensioners may consider dipping into their pensions to see more of the world."Francis Torrilla, managing director of CV Villas, said: "In recent years we've seen a marked trend in families of two or more generations travelling together. The ability for older people to withdraw funds from their pensions will enable more families to do this, benefitting from time spent with their loved ones in locations they might have only dreamed of before."

Pension freedoms to aid holidays of lifetime - travel watchdog

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