Retirement Planning
Survey reveals widespread pension uncertainty
Dan Kilpatrick, 11 October 2011
Millions of Britons don't expect to receive an income from a pension in retirement, according to a new report.
Retirement income specialist MGM Advantage has found that 44 per cent of people do not expect to rely on a pension when they stop working, after surveying 2,009 adults.
A quarter (24 per cent) said they did not know where their retirement income would come from.
MGM cited the rising cost of living and increased life expectancy as reasons for the uncertainty but warned that people 'cannot afford to miss out on saving into a pension'.
The research showed that, of 55 to 64 year olds, 38 per cent (approximately 2.6 million) expect to rely on other savings and investments, rather than a pension, for income in retirement.
This trend was described as 'highly concerning' for an age group that should have already established a pension plan.
In addition, 62 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds and nearly half of those aged between 25 and 34 (46 per cent) did not expect a pension of any kind to provide them with income in retirement.
There was a marked difference between men and women, with exactly half of women saying they did not expect any income from a pension, compared to roughly a third of men (36 per cent).
Craig Fazzini-Jones, director at MGM, warned workers not to opt out of a company pension scheme and described the findings as 'concerning'.
'It is never too late to take action and even at the point of retirement many people can increase their retirement income simply by using the Open Market Option to shop around for annuity.
'Doing so can pay dividends, particularly for those individuals with health conditions which entitle them to an enhanced annuity,' he added.
The survey also recorded the expected sources of income for retirement, with occupation or company pension schemes rated the highest, followed by savings, bonds and ISAs.
Buy-to-let property and stakeholder pensions were the least likely sources.
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