And finally…one in five UK accountants ‘have no pension savings’

High net worth retirement lending adviser Bower Private Clients’ survey of 105 accountants in February also found that 34 per cent of the profession plan to fund some or all of their retirement using property wealth.

The results also showed that one in eight accountants will sell their home or rely on investments in buy-to-let or rental incomes to fund their lifestyle after they retire.

The poll shows that 48 per cent of retirement funds will come from pensions, while 42 per cent will come from property.

However one in five accountants say they have no pension’s savings whatsoever, underlining a change in attitudes retirement plans for professionals.

This figure may be a product of the recession in the 1980s and ’90s, which forced many accountants to stop making pension payments and shift their focus away from succession planning.

Despite this statistic, the majority of accountants (53 per cent) polled are confident about their retirement plans, while exactly half claimed to have reviewed their pension plans over the past 12 months.

The average accountant’s retirement will be funded by a pension scheme; with 54 per cent in possession of defined contribution pensions and 7 per cent have final salary schemes.

Andrea Rozario, chief corporate officer at Bower Private Clients said: “Accountants can earn significant incomes and can accumulate a wealth of assets like property and increasingly are looking to property as a source of retirement income.

“This reflects the changing attitudes across the rest of the population with the wealth tied up in homes seen as a potential source of retirement funding which is driving increasing demand for retirement lending solutions.

“The continuing squeeze on pension and investment income means accountants will likely look to consider how best to maximise what will easily be their biggest asset and in turn consider solutions such as lifetime mortgages.”

Half of those who took part in the survey also said that they have reviewed their pension plans within the last 12 months.