Money News
Two thirds of Brits (66%) surveyed have little or no faith in the Government when it comes to pensions, according to research from insurer, Friends Provident. Indeed, as Gordon Brown prepares to mark his first year as Prime Minister, just 5% of them would put him in charge of their pension fund.
A key reason for the lack of trust is the Government's running of the state pension, the research suggests. Figures show 87% of non-retired residents who took part in the survey felt the Government is failing in its aim to provide a state pension that will adequately help fund their retirement. And just 3% believe the current state pension is adequate to live on in later life.
A fifth of those surveyed (21%) said their faith had been eroded to a point where they had lost confidence in the Government handling their pension. Almost half (47%) of the adults are acting to remedy their personal situation by actively saving for retirement and a further one in four (22%) intends to start saving shortly.
But Brits have their own manifesto to help the Government regain trust: almost half (43%) said a larger and fairer state pension would increase faith in the Government the most; 12% said being automatically enrolled in a workplace pension would aid confidence; while 9% called for an equal balance between private and public sector pensions.
The research, carried out by YouGov, shows adults place greater trust in a pensions provider (27%) and employer (16%), than in the Government when it comes to handling their pension pot.
Research previously conducted by Friends Provident back in 2005 found then that three quarters of Brits (73%) felt that the Government probably or definitely wouldn't solve the 'pensions crisis'. Since then the Government has appeared to put pensions higher on its agenda; the Pensions Bill has been introduced, and compensation has been set aside for some workers in bankrupt companies who had lost their pensions.
23 June 2008 © Moneyextra.com
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