Many failing to save for retirement

Many people are not putting any money aside to help them through their retirement, a survey has stated.

Some 22% of those aged between 30 and state pension age, and who earned at least £10,000 a year, are not putting anything aside, according to a Scottish Widows report which questioned 5,200 UK adults.

A year ago this figure was only 20% according to the report, but the Government is tackling the problem by introducing a scheme from October that will automatically enrol employees into a pension scheme.

The intention is to sign up between four and eight million people into existing company schemes or new pensions.

The Scottish Widows annual review of pensions suggests that each year, more and more people are failing to sign up for a pension of any description.

Ian Naismith, of Scottish Widows said: 'People failing to make any kind of provision for their later years are in a particularly precarious position.

'Some may think that they will be able to fall back on the state pension, property or a partner's pension and while these options may provide some level of support, saving nothing for retirement could be a fast track to financial problems.'

He added that even those that did have pension provisions may have misjudged how much they will be receiving in retirement.

Age UK Charity Director General Michelle Mitchell commented: 'Auto-enrolment, when it comes into effect in the Autumn, will help millions of people currently excluded from saving in pension schemes.

'While the economic climate is increasingly tough with many people struggling to make ends meet let alone save for the future, this is one of the biggest changes in private pensions for a generation and has the potential to transform lives by enabling many people to save and secure a more comfortable later life in addition to their state pension.'

Copyright Press Association 2012