A shocking new report has shown an alarming number of people believe planning for retirement has been a waste of time.
The report, by pension provider Met Life, has revealed just how disappointed many people are with their pensions.
The research, which was conducted on 1,947 adults in the UK, found that nearly 20% of people who have saved for retirement, are unhappy or fear they have wasted their money. This included 12% of people over the age of 45 said they wished they had not bothered saving for retirement and 6% who are unhappy with the way their pension had performed.
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However, many pension savers are actually happy with their decisions. 47% of people surveyed are pleased they have saved for their retirement, although they are still nervous about exactly what income they will finally receive. Whilst 22% of would-be retirees are confident their pension will deliver a good income in retirement.
The research also found that satisfaction with pensions increased with age. Just 10% of people over the age of 65 wish they had not bothered to save for retirement.
Nervous pension investors
Despite a recent rally in the value of shares in the UK, pension savers are still seemingly nervous about how their retirement savings are performing.
According to Met Life’s research, 73% of people saving for their retirement are now less confident in the ability of the stock market to deliver returns.
The dip in stock market values, which followed the financial crisis, has clearly changed attitudes to investing. Met Life found that 49% of pension savers would consider giving up some of the potential positive returns from investing, in exchange for a guarantee that their pension would not lose money.
Commenting on the figures, Dominic Grinstead, Managing Director, MetLife UK said: “Long-term equity investment remains the most effective way to provide an income in retirement but it is also clear that the events of the past five years have hit confidence and undermined faith in pension saving.”
Grinstead continued: “The Government has worked hard to make retirement saving pay with plans for a universal state pension, auto-enrolment into company pensions and changes to the rules on taking retirement income which allow greater flexibility.”
“However the retirement income industry has to work harder to rebuild confidence and our research shows that guarantees which are affordable have an important role to play in ensuring that people do not end up feeling they have wasted their money.” (Source: Met Life)
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