Survey Reveals Lack Of Awareness About Retirement Savings

Four in five people aged 18 to 29 don't understand pensions, and one-third of people in this age group don't have a pension at all, according to research by Barnett Waddingham.

The consultancy firm found that even the next generation up is confused about pensions, with three-quarters of 30 to 49-year-olds admitting they don't understand them either.

Another key finding was the news that 40 per cent of people aged between 18 and 29 claimed to have not heard of auto-enrolment.

Damian Stancombe, Head of Workplace Health and Wealth at Barnett Waddingham, said employers and trustees need to change the way they communicate with each generation regarding pension savings.

"To truly engage, they can no longer communicate collectively across generations when there are particular concerns that will be missed without communicating to individual age groups," he said.

Expert Opinion

Pensions are a key part of workplace benefits and offer vital support to a huge number of people in later life, yet it seems many do not have a comprehensive understanding of such systems. <br/> <br/>"It is particularly interesting to see that many younger workers are not familiar with auto-enrolment, with this indicating that there remains much for businesses to do to ensure that employees fully understand the issue. <br/> <br/>"Equally important is the need for businesses to recognise that aside from effective communications there are many other challenges created by auto enrolment and it is vital they have the resources in place to ensure that it can be managed effectively." Nigel Bolton - Partner