Retiring early still an unreachable prospect for many in UAE, poll finds

Retiring early still an unreachable prospect for many in UAE, poll finds

Retiring early remains out of reach for many residents in the United Arab Emirates, a new poll has found, highlighting the need for financial preparation and professional advice on the matter.

Friends Provident International (FPI) surveyed 1,000 individuals based in the UAE and found that 44 percent of the respondents expected to retire by the time they were 55 years old and that 63 percent of them before they reached the age of 60.

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FPI also found that almost half of the respondents (45 percent) have not started saving for retirement yet and that 11 percent declined to respond on the matter.

“There appears to be a strong disconnect between the aspirations of many individuals in this survey in the UAEto retire early and the reality of how much they will need to save for retirement,” Stuart Shilcock, Head of Sales (Middle East) at FPI, said.

Over half (53 percent) of the respondents who did have some savings set aside for their retirement said that these were in the form of general bank deposits. Nearly 40 percent said that they did not feel the need to plan far ahead for their