New research from Aegon shows that many new retirees experience negative emotions spending the money they have been saving up… but there are ways to reframe the experience.

The surprising new research reveals that many savers experience anxiety, fear and guilt when they spend their retirement savings, rather than positive emotions such as excitement, security or relief.

The findings were revealed as part of a recent episode of Aegon’s podcast “Money:Mindshift”, which featured the host, Dr Tom Mathar speaking to Dan Haylett, financial planner and host of the “Humans vs Retirement” YouTube channel and podcast.

Haylett reported that his experience was that: “Clients often have more than enough to live well, but they still hesitate to spend. They’ve spent 30 or 40 years building the habit of saving.

“Flipping that switch – especially when it means drawing down capital that won’t be replaced – is emotionally challenging.”

He went on to describe spending as a skill… but one that’s rarely taught or encouraged. “We’re nudged to save,” he said, “but we’re not prepared for the transition into spending. That’s why so many people reach later life with regrets about what they didn’t do.”

Unwinding the stats

So, what are the dominant emotions felt when new retirees finally have the opportunity to “live a little” when they stop work?

A surprising number experience anxiety (26%), with fear (18%) and guilt (15%) just behind.

Further, the research from Aegon found that a lower number of retirees associated positive emotions such as excitement (15%), security (17%) or relief (10%) with spending their savings.

Haylett suggested that savers should create a “memory fund” as a way to reframe retirement spending as an investment in “joy, connection and legacy”. He also advocated that savers should consider sabbaticals and purposeful breaks earlier in life, rather than wait until they retire.

Mathar added: “It’s a strange problem to have: to an economist, there’s no such thing as ‘saving’, only deferred spending. Yet many people, even those who’ve saved more than enough, struggle to spend.

“But when we understand the emotional complexity of modern life, it makes perfect sense. Never have we had to navigate such intricate trade-offs between our present selves and our future selves.”

“Don’t worry, be happy”…. how your RetireEasy LifePlan can help you to spend securely in retirement

So how can you take out negative emotions such as anxiety and fear when YOU reach retirement and are in a position to spend some of your hard-earned savings?

Knowing precisely how much you can easily afford to spend is the key, and that is precisely how the RetireEasy LifePlan works.

At every point in your pre- and post-retirement trajectory, it will show you precisely how long your savings will last, and whether or not you need to make any adjustments to what you are spending.

Not only that, but you can run different scenarios in your personalised program to determine exactly what the longer-term impacts will be should you make a major spending decision at any point in the future – such as taking the family on a major holiday, making an improvement to your home or helping a younger family member get onto the housing ladder.

A RetireEasy LifePlan costs just a few pounds a month, and if your subscription has lapsed, it’s easy to renew it. Just click here.