Pension confidence crisis

Two thirds of consumers don't trust any political party to sort out the pension crisis that faces people in the UK, according to a survey commissioned by Defaqto.

When asked which political party people trusted the most to sort out the pension problem, 67% said ‘none of them', up from 57% in 2007. The Labour Party saw the biggest drop in perceived trust, falling from 25% in 2007 to 14% in 2008, but none of the other parties gained from this drop - more people trust no one at all.

Matthew Ward, Principal Consultant - Pensions & Investments, says: "These results indicate that more people are becoming less confident that the very real problem of people not saving enough for their future will be addressed successfully by any of the political parties."

The question was asked in relation to the reported problem that people have made inadequate savings for their retirement and may have only the State Pension to rely on.

Ward adds that "more needs to be done to encourage people to save more for their retirement. Although lack of spare funds is an issue, people may not know enough about pension savings plans to fully understand the benefits they offer for long term saving."

The survey, undertaken by GfK NOP, explored attitudes towards pension savings plans and will form part of the third annual Retirement Savings and Income Report to be published by Defaqto later this month.