The Department for Work and Pensions has published research exploring how people feel about their standard of living and income in retirement and their feelings about their financial future.

Respondents identified three categories of lifestyle in retirement:

• A "basic" lifestyle was seen to be one which lacked financial security and independence and was characterised by anxieties around being able to afford everyday costs such as heating bills and replacing household items.
• A "comfortable" lifestyle was seen to begin at the point where an individual was able to afford the basic pre-requisites of life, and then had sufficient income left over that they could, therefore, exercise some choice on how to spend it.
• A "wealthy" lifestyle was considered to be one where choice was not constrained by budget.

Respondents generally identified themselves with having a "comfortable" lifestyle. They were reluctant to consider themselves as having a "basic" lifestyle as this was associated with media images of "pensioner poverty" and some saw the "wealthy" lifestyle as also having negative connotations, for example, being wasteful and "frivolous".

Respondents tended not to have any concrete financial plans for the future, feeling they would keep drawing on their current income and asset streams. This unwillingness to think about the future was based on a feeling that retirement income was fixed and a reluctance to consider any unpleasant issues that may require financial planning such as the deterioration of health.