The pensions industry has welcomed the arrival of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association's (PLSA) new Retirement Living Standards and praised it for its clarity and tangibility.

The widespread opinion was that it will help savers engage and save more with their pensions by providing a tangible goal with clear lifestyle differences between the incomes.

It's standards explain that retirees should aim to have a minimum income in retirement of £10,200, or £15,700 for couples, for the minimum standard of living with enough left over for “some fun”.

The PLSA believed that this is achievable for most people though a combination of the full state pension (£8,767.20 per year) and auto-enrolment into a workplace scheme.

Aviva workplace pension proposition manager, Steve Jackson, believed that the new standards did a “fantastic job of making pension saving feel tangible”.

LCP head of DC, Laura Myers, added: “The new Retirement Living Standards give people more clarity and tangible savings goals based on up to date research and numbers.

“Pensions are often criticised for being full of jargon and complex communications, but these standards talk to people in a language pensions savers will understand, framing it around people’s individual life goals and priorities.”

LCP also said that It was adopting the new standards into its DC modeller.

The standards also set levels for 'moderate' and 'comfortable' lifestyles, which recommend individual incomes of £20,200 and £33,000 a year, respectively.

PTL business development manager, Matthew Binnington, said the firm “wholeheartedly welcomed” the standards.

“These will plot what three levels of retirement could look like based on three baskets of commodities,” he continued.

“This will help members to genuinely envision their future self and what their retirement will look like in terms of practical commodities and choice.

“We are an early adopter of these standards and will encourage their use wherever we can across our client base.

“These standards have the potential to become part of the national dialogue in the same way as ‘five a day’ has and, in doing so, dramatically shift public engagement with pension saving by helping individuals to better envision their future.”

Hymans Robertson head of DC provider relations, Michael, Ambery, concluded: “The targets announced by the PLSA are a fantastic step forward and will go a long way towards addressing the current savings crisis.

"If the industry embraces them they will help many more people to feel more confident that they can retire on an adequate income."

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