The British public’s trust in the pensions industry continued to improve in 2023, with Trafalgar House’s Trust & Confidence Index showing the ‘public trust score’ rose to 5.26 out of 10 during the year.

According to the index, the public trust score has been steadily rising since 2020, increasing from 4.46 to 4.63 in 2021 and 4.63 to 4.95 in 2022.

This represents a total increase of 18 per cent between 2020 and 2023.

Trafalgar House’s study seeks to understand how the British public feels about the pensions sector, how much trust they have in the industry, and what level of confidence people have that their retirement needs and objectives will be met.

Respondents were asked to rate their trust in the industry, with 0 being ‘not at all’ and 10 being ‘a lot’.

There was an overall reduction in negative scoring, with the proportion of respondents saying they do not trust the industry at all down by 1.8 per cent and those stating that they do not trust the sector much down by 1.3 per cent.

Trafalgar House noted that, unlike previous years, the shift in opinion had not been from negative to moderate scoring, as those saying they trusted the industry ‘to some extent’ had fallen by 3.5 per cent.

Positive scores of ‘a reasonable amount’ and ‘a lot’ of trust increased by 5.8 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively.

This has resulted in only 22 per cent of those surveyed saying they did not have any or much trust in the pensions sector.

“Whist it is certainly encouraging to see a positive headline figure and a growth in public confidence over the last four years, we must remain mindful that this is a nuanced picture as the survey also reveals underlying concerns,” commented Trafalgar House client director, Daniel Taylor.

“For example, when asked how their trust in pensions affects how they feel about their level of savings for retirement, almost six in 10 people still say the industry has no impact on their retirement savings. This clearly indicates that, for most, pensions are not being considered as the predominant retirement plan.

“The picture is also complex when it comes to member attitudes. Although the lower negative trust score is good, this hasn’t translated into a broader positive feeling about retirement prospects.

“For trust in the industry to have negative or no impact on people's savings habits is a dark cloud over the industry that needs to change.”

---