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Britons
'still not saving enough' for retirement More than a
third of UK workers are failing to save enough for their retirement, with
many relying on the state pension despite being aware that it is unlikely
to provide them with a good standard of living, said the insurance
industry's trade body today. Of the 36% of people not saving
enough, 80% have no savings at all although nearly a third of those said
they accepted that building a decent retirement income was their own
responsibility. The survey, conducted by YouGov
on behalf of the Association of British Insurers, found that 35% of those
without savings thought the government should be doing more to help with
retirement provision, while 21% believed it was the responsibility of
their employer. Only 2% of those not saving
said they believed their state pensions would provide them with an
adequate retirement income - yet 22% said they would be relying on it. The vast majority of those
questioned said they had a poor understanding of pensions and hadn't tried
to calculate what they would need to save to have a comfortable standard
of living in retirement. "Our survey paints a
compelling picture of people who want to take responsibility for their
retirement but are worried and uncertain about how to do so," said
Joanne Segars, head of pensions and savings at the ABI. "We need to create a
framework that informs, encourages and enables people to make decisions
and take ownership. It is clear we have some way to go." Last week Andrew Smith, the
secretary of state for work and pensions, warned ministers that radical
steps had to be taken to address a gathering pensions shortfall. Mr Smith told the cabinet he
will be coming forward with proposals this autumn to restore
"informed choice" in pensions. The Treasury minister Ruth Kelly
recently admitted that a lack of trust in the financial industry and
general confusion meant "it is almost impossible for anyone to make
rational choices right now". Mr Smith told ministers he will
propose a "financial health check" so every employee receives an
annual statement outlining what they could expect at retirement from
private and state schemes. He also outlined his plans for a pension protection fund to stop company pensions from being lost entirely if the employer went bust. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
