A survey undertaken by Nick-James.com, the online club for entrepreneurs has revealed that a third (29.6%) of over fifties will not have sufficient income to live on comfortably in retirement.

“This survey was taken amongst a relatively affluent group – people who use the Internet – so the figure may be hiding a bigger problem,” said Nick James, founder of the site.

The survey (1) showed that most of those who are not well enough provided for will simply try and economise (32%), almost half have no idea how they will manage (45%), and around 13% will look for part time jobs or hold off retiring for as long as they can.  Only 7.5% were looking at releasing the equity in their properties.

When asked how they would pay bills and household expenses, representative answers included:

“cut down” (woman, 51)
“pray!” (man, 60)
“struggle (man, 51)
“panic!” (woman, 56)

“Only one person had mentioned running a business in retirement - taking income from a holiday cottage,” said James.  “The respondents were all able to use the Internet, and were an articulate bunch.  These are exactly the kind of people who could be running their own small businesses on line to help supplement their pensions.  They are of an age where the knowledge they have, whether in a work or a hobby context, could be highly valuable.  It doesn’t cost a lot to get going and an Internet business can provide a helpful supplementary income, allowing people to continue enjoying their retirement years.”

Nick-James.com is an online club for UK entrepreneurs which offers practical business support and inspiration. It is a resource centre for anyone looking to start their own business or in the early stages of developing their company. It is a subscription-based website - membership costs £19.95 per month. /ends

Notes to editors
 (1) The survey was undertaken in conjunction with SixtyPluSurfers in October 2007.  Qualifying sample size: 138 (people over 50).

About Nick James
Nick James is a Reading based entrepreneur, small business consultant and founder of Nick-James.com, an online club for UK entrepreneurs which offers practical business support and inspiration. It is a resource centre for anyone looking to start their own business or in the early stages of developing their company. Most useful for people primarily using the internet as a business tool, it is a subscription-based website and membership is £19.95 per month.

Contacts:
For media enquiries, please contact Zed PR on 0118 969 8966; email nickjames@zedpr.co.uk