One in 4 not saving into a pension
One in four Britons are failing to save any money into a pension, rising to more than half among young people, research shows.
Around 26% of people are not making any provisions for their retirement, up from 20% last year, according to financial services firm Alliance Trust.
The figure rises to 55% among those aged between 18 to 29, but despite this, young people remain confident that they will still be able to save enough for their retirement.
The situation is worse among women, with 31% of women admitting they are not paying into a pension, something just 26% of men say they are not doing.
Only 35% of people think the state pension will still be around when they retire, down from 49% in 2006, while just 27% of those questioned now belong to a final salary scheme, compared with 30% in 2006.
One in 10 people aged between 30 and 49 admitted they are totally unconfident that they will be able to afford a comfortable retirement, with just 1% of people feeling very confident that they will have enough money.
Hyman Wolanski, head of pensions at Alliance Trust, said: “It is worrying to see that many in the prime of their working lives are most uncomfortable about their retirement prospects.
“It is clear that serious action needs to be taken to tackle the problem to break this trend. Our research shows it is now more important than ever for people to ensure they have a proper pension plan tailored to suit their individual circumstances.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman: “We are concerned that 7 million people aren’t saving enough for retirement. That’s why the Government has proposed reforms which will make it easier for people to save through automatic enrolment into personal accounts, or a qualifying workplace scheme.
“It’s vital that people start planning and saving for retirement early on so that they can maximise their pension pot. Our own research shows young people in particular have a ‘live for today’ approach - they risk having a much lower income in retirement than they expect.”