PMA survey reveals pensions timebomb for publicans

Our survey on personal finance revealed 51% of publicans don’t have a pension and, of those, two-thirds state they don’t intend to contribute towards a pension in the future. Of those that do have a pension, two-thirds describe the expected return from that provision as ‘small’ and a fifth expect it to be only ‘adequate’.

The situation for those running pub businesses is far worse than that of the wider UK population, with figures last year showing that one in five people are saving nothing at all for their retirement and one-third are ‘under-saving’.

The lack of pension savings is seriously impacting on the age that many licensees hope to give up work.

Almost six in 10 believe they will be working past the state pension age, with a fifth thinking they will still be behind the bar past the age of 70.

Financial health​

The survey also asked readers more generally about their financial health. The results paint a picture of licensees troubled by their finances and struggling to make businesses profitable.

Only about half (54%) said their pub was making a profit, with a quarter saying they were breaking even. When asked to describe their current financial status, three in 10 said: ‘I am struggling

to make ends meet’; and a third said: ‘I am just about OK.’ Only one-fifth described their financial status as ‘comfortable’.

Four in 10 said they are finding it hard to meet all their monthly bills, with tax and utilities the hardest to pay. More than a third say they are forced to borrow money to make ends meet, mainly in the form of loans from family and the bank.

Debt​

The survey asked those licensees who had borrowed money their level of outstanding debt, not including mortgage payments. Almost half owe in excess of £10,000, with more than a quarter (29%) between £20,000 and £50,000 in the red. A third of those said they aren’t currently able to service that debt.

Examining the results by tenure, a greater proportion of tenants or lessees said they were struggling to make ends meet and had bigger concerns about their financial situation.

Three-quarters (77%) of this group said they weren’t able to save money and 54% don’t have a pension.

The survey asked, taking all things into consideration, how worried licensees were about their financial situation. Almost half (48%) said they were ‘worried’ or ‘very worried’. One in eight claimed to be ‘not worried at all’.

The future​

Looking ahead, the survey results paint a mixed picture. Four in 10 predict their situation will improve by this time next year, with roughly the same proportion saying it will be about the same. However, a significant minority of licensees — more than four in 10 — say they see their future outside the licensed trade.

The online poll was completed by a self-selecting sample of 375 licensees and is the latest in a series of lifestyle surveys the PMA​ is conducting among its readers.