Due to the decline in the economy, confidence in pensions is now at an all-time low, with many people worried about increasing inflation, low interest rates and the rising retirement age.
The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) ran their annual survey and discovered that those who don’t have confidence in the current pension systems now number more than those who do. 
The NAPF, which represent nearly 1,200 pension schemes worth almost £800 billion, have asked the coalition to increase public confidence in the pension system before millions of Brits end up in dire poverty once they retire.
The survey was conducted with 900 working adults and nearly half admitted that they had no confidence in the pension system as a way of saving money. Only 4 in 10 said that they were confident. In the same survey last year, the number of people who were confident in the pension system was 5% greater than those who weren’t.
Last year the survey showed that 45% of people thought that a pension scheme was the best way to save for their retirement, this year it was just 35%.
Investing in property and ISAs came out as the most popular choices for saving for retirement in this year’s survey.
Chief Executive of the NAPF, Joanne Segars, warned that public faith in pensions had fallen at the very time it needed to be growing. She went on to say that the decline in confidence is very worrying because in 2012 the auto-enrolment workplace pension comes into effect.
The Pension Confidence Index showed that 3 in 10 Brits saw a pension as the most important job benefit; this figure was 4 in 10 in 2010.
Ms Segars said: “Politicians have to boost confidence in pensions, or people will simply opt out. We need a pension framework that the public can believe in and rely on.”
“We urge the Government to do more to fulfil its own pledge to reinvigorate pensions. It must get on with reforming the state pension by setting a simpler, single tier system. This would set a clear foundation for retirement on which people can build their workplace pension and savings.”
“The Government must stress the importance of saving,”
The current recession and in particular the fall of the stockmarkets has put many people off pensions, along with the increased retirement age and other hidden costs of retirement. To add to this misery, the rising inflation and tightening household budgets have made many families reassess their priorities and pension payments have been cut.
Pensions Minister, Steve Webb addressed the issue: “We entirely agree that more needs to be done to boost confidence in pensions. We’re working on plans to simplify the state pension – providing a firm foundation on which to save ahead of the introduction of automatic enrolment.”
