Britain is ageing. Falling birth rates and longer lifespans are pushing up the median age, which the ONS estimates will rise to just under 46 by 2049 from 41 today. The pensioner population is set to increase by a fifth over the same period to just over 15mn, and the number of over-85s will double to 3.6mn. That creates an opportunity for businesses targeting retirees and those planning for older age.
Several companies in the FT's ranking of the UK's fastest-growing companies fit those categories, from care providers to a stairlift maker and a cruise company. Pensions and retirement planning are among the most prominent areas represented. The shift from final salary schemes to defined contribution schemes has made the landscape more complex, and longer lifespans bring challenges of their own. "We don't know whether we are optimising for living to 70, 80 or 90," says Lisa Picardo, chief business officer of Pension Bee, which ranks 117th on the list. The London-listed company wants to grow revenue to more than £100mn by 2029, up from £43mn last year.
Britain faces a so-called pensions crisis, with as many as four in 10 working-age people saving too little for retirement, according to the Department for Work and Pensions. The Financial Conduct Authority has also warned about an 'advice gap', with too few Britons receiving professional guidance on their finances. "Choices made in your thirties are going to determine where you sit in your seventies," says Giovanni Daprà, founder of Moneyfarm, an investment platform ranked 128th. "The addressable market is huge," says Andrew Megson, chief executive of My Pension Expert, ranked 124th.
Yet many retirees have considerable wealth. Those born in the 1950s and 1960s are retiring with greater average wealth than their predecessors, thanks to soaring house prices and generous final salary pensions, according to the Resolution Foundation. And they are spending it, a trend that is drawing businesses to the grey pound.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing