Nearly two thirds (64%) of Brits do not feel confident about their retirement, while 36% don’t feel confident about planning for retirement, research from Penfold has revealed.

The survey of 2,000 British workers also found that over half (55%) don’t know how much money they have in their pension pot.

In addition to this, it showed that those closer to retirement are less pension-aware than their younger counterparts, as 57% of 55 to 64-year-olds said that they don’t know how much money is in their pension, compared to 51% of 25 to 34-year-olds.

Northern Ireland was found to be the most pension-savvy region of the UK, however, with 20% of respondents having checked their pension within the last month, double the national average of 10%.

The research also raised concerns around the amount that savers expected to need in retirement, as almost half of respondents (45%) said they thought they would need up to £200,000, while 3% of those believed they could manage on just £1,000 to £10,000.

Yet estimates from Penfold suggested that someone who earns £35,000 per year before tax, should look to generate an income of £23,333, two-thirds of their working salary, per year during a 20-year retirement, which would require a £466,600 pension pot.

Penfold co-founder, Pete Hykin, highlighted the data as “incredibly worrying but sadly, not surprising given how the pensions industry has historically failed to engage savers with the right way to save towards a comfortable retirement”.

“With so many obstacles - jargon-heavy paper correspondence, terrible customer service and a lack of investment options that align with your values, it can take a lot of headspace to deal with on top of an already busy life,” he stated.


This article first appeared on our sister title, Pensions Age.

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