You don’t want to exist, you want to be able to live.

- Voice of the retiree research participant

Retirement planning can often sit in the background of life until suddenly, it doesn’t. For many of us, there’s a pension somewhere in the picture but feeling truly ready for retirement is something else entirely.  

That’s what 5,404 people across Ireland told us through our Voice of the retiree research.  

Their experiences show that understanding the importance of a pension is now common but feeling ready for retirement is far less certain.  

Through our readiness framework, we explore the financial, social, and mindset indicators that influence how ready people feel for retirement. 

At Standard Life, our Second Life approach is shaped by what we continue to learn through this research, drawing on more than 16 years of listening to people’s experiences of planning for, moving into, and living through retirement. By sharing what we’ve uncovered, we hope to help people think about retirement not just as a financial milestone, but as a life stage, a second life, worth preparing for personally too.  

Below are just a few of the key insights to give you some understanding of how financially, socially, and mindset ready for retirement people in Ireland feel today.

 

Financial readiness

 

1 in 3
know how much they’ll need to live comfortably in retirement.

7% decline
Financial readiness among working adults has fallen from 37% to 30% since 2021.

2x
Those who receive regular advice are almost twice as likely to feel positive about their finances and confident that they’re making the most of their pension. And people who feel more financially secure are significantly more likely to look forward to their second lives.

Social readiness

 

21-point gap
Social readiness is significantly higher among retirees than working adults, suggesting that confidence often strengthens through experience.

34%
of working women say they feel socially unprepared for retirement (compared with 27% of men).

69% vs 62%
In retirement, women overtake men in social readiness.

 

Mindset readiness

 

46%
of adults see retirement as something that just happens.

1.5x
Adults who feel positive about their finances now are almost 1.5 times more likely to look forward to retirement than those currently feeling anxious about money. Mindset readiness is closely connected to broader feelings of financial confidence, and stability over time.

 

Research referenced is conducted by 3Gem and Red C on behalf of Standard Life. Findings are based on a nationally representative survey of 5,356 adults in Ireland across 2025, alongside qualitative research with 48 adults aged 55+.

Second Life tools to support your retirement journey