One in five people aged 18-80 are not planning for their financial futures because they are 'too busy', according to The Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement's 2026 Standard Life Retirement Voice report.
The report found that the equivalent of 10,378,765 people said they are simply too busy to plan for their future finances, citing their job or work, family or household responsibilities and managing day-to-day finances as key reasons.
Parents face competing demands
Amongst parents with children under 18 who say they are too busy to plan for their future finances, 'looking after children' is the biggest competing demand. Managing day-to-day finances tops the list of people's financial priorities, while just 12% say pension saving is their main financial priority, down from 15% in 2025.
Among those who say they are too busy to plan, 38% cite focusing on their health and wellbeing, 22% mention their social life and 15% point to TV, social media and other leisure activities. Almost two thirds of those who are not yet retired worry they are not saving enough for when they are older.
Financial pressures not the only constraint
Catherine Foot, Director of the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, said: “Financial pressures are clearly a major part of the challenge people face when preparing for later life, but these findings show that money is not the only constraint. Work, caring responsibilities, family life and the demands of managing finances today are all competing for the time and headspace people need to think about tomorrow.
“That is particularly visible among parents, many of whom are balancing work and household finances with the day-to-day demands of looking after children. For younger adults, the mix of competing priorities looks different, but the underlying challenge is similar: finding the space to engage with financial decisions whose benefits may be many years away.
Concern over retirement saving remains high
“This matters because concern about retirement saving remains high. The important thing is not to let being busy become a permanent barrier to planning - retirement can feel a long way off, particularly when there are more immediate demands on your time and money, but even small steps to understand what you already have and think about what you might need can make planning feel more manageable.
“As people live longer and responsibility for retirement outcomes increasingly sits with individuals, we need to think not only about whether people have enough money to save, but how easy we make it for them to plan and engage with their long-term finances. Policymakers, employers and the financial services industry all have a role to play in reducing that burden – helping people build financial resilience today while making long-term saving and retirement planning as simple and accessible as possible.”
