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Nearly one in
five British workers are saving for retirement but not contributing
to a pension, according to new research by employee benefits provider
B&CE Benefit Schemes.
According to the findings from the survey, many UK workers still
do not know that the Government provides tax incentives for pension
saving, and so mostly invest in property and ISAs instead. 28 per
cent of those not saving in a pension, however, choose to fund their
retirement through simple deposit savings accounts, as they are
perceived as having a flexibility advantage over pensions.
44 per cent of workers surveyed claimed to have chosen property
as their retirement savings option, with 12 per cent of that group
saying they picked property as they did not ‘trust’
pensions. Almost half chose ISAs, although 64 per cent of workers
who are saving for retirement with an ISA are contributing to a
pensions scheme as well.
John Jory, deputy chief executive of B&CE Benefit Schemes, said:
“The findings of the research present a worrying picture of
retirement saving today. There is a lack of awareness about the
benefits of pension saving, which may mean that people are making
ill-informed decisions.
“As an industry, we need to do more to educate workers on
the benefits of pension saving and look at more innovative ways
of enabling workers to retain control of their investment. Pension
education should be accessible to workers at all levels now and
we champion the idea of getting the ball rolling now, rather than
waiting until 2012 to address these issues,” he added.
- Pensions Age
July 2008
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