Scots fear pension pots are too small

Monday 10 September 2012

ONE-THIRD of Scots fear they will not have enough money in retirement even if they double their pension contributions, according to new research.

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JAMES HAMILTON

They are "slowly waking up to the reality" that the state cannot be relied on for much of their income in old age, pensions provider Scottish Widows has revealed.

They are now willing to devote a vastly larger slice of their salary to their pension pot, from £38.90 a month last year to £93.36 in the latest survey, the study said.

But many Scots believe this will still be insufficient to give them an acceptable standard of living after retirement.Lynn Graves, head of business development and corporate pensions at Scottish Widows, said: "It is clear from our research that people are failing to save enough for their future, especially in relation to retirement."While it is a positive sign that people are willing to pay more into their workplace pension, substantial work must still be done to encourage people to save enough for retirement and this is a challenge for government, the pensions industry and employers."As a nation, we are slowly waking up to the reality of how we are going to be able to fund our retirement, with many people recognising that they can't solely rely on the state to provide the majority of their income in old age."The survey of 5200 adults suggests workers have high expectations of their employers, with 73% of Scottish employees believing the workplace should give them full financial advice and information on retirement planning.More than half (54%) of Scots said their employer's pension scheme was an incentive to stay with the company.A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said the findings echoed those of earlier research.He said: "This confirms what survey after survey has found: that people are concerned about retiring and having enough money to live on. "We have a perfect storm of people living longer lives and seeing lower annuity rates, which have put more pressure on pension incomes."However, the ABI said the introduction of auto enrolment later this year, under which companies will enrol employees for pension schemes unless they opt out, would improve the shortage in contributions. From October, large employers will automatically enrol their employees into their company pension schemes, but Scottish Widows found that more than half (56%) of Scottish workers are completely unaware of the impending changes.Only one in five Scots (19%) who is aware of the scheme found out about the changes from their employer, with more than half (57%) saying they found out through the media.Those who are aware of the scheme are overwhelmingly in favour of it, with only 13% of Scottish workers planning to opt out.Ms Graves added: "With just three weeks to go until auto-enrolment comes into force, it is shocking that there remains such a huge gap in awareness, and that the media has had to step in to play a pivotal role in educating people about these changes. Educating these employees needs to be a top priority for the industry and the government."

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Scots fear pension pots are too small

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