One-third have no pension, 25% no savings

MORE than a third of people surveyed said they don’t have a pension, while one in five cannot meet all of their monthly financial commitments.

The survey, conducted by Friends First, also found that a quarter of people said they don’t have any savings.

Since the downturn hit, almost a third of respondents have taken a pay cut, while close to one in 10 have had their working hours reduced. A third have also cut the amount they are saving.

Of the one in three who don’t have a pension half said they are planning to rely on the state pension in retirement. A further third of those admit they have not thought about how they will provide for themselves in their old age.

Almost three out of five people without pensions said that they cannot afford to start one, while one in five said they have just not got around to it.

Friends First business development director Simon Hoffman said: “The perceived high cost of entry is preventing people from taking the first step in pension provision. People have already cut back on the little luxuries in life and now they are cutting back on real necessities, like pensions. However, people need to understand that some pension provision is better than no provision and that putting it off until you think you can afford it means that you will probably not get around to it, until it is too late.”

More than a quarter of those surveyed who had a pension say they have reduced their contributions in the last year — a rise in 6% from 19% in 2010. Of these, two fifths have stopped making a contribution altogether.

IFG Corporate Pensions director Fionan O’Sullivan said: “The lack of understanding by consumers is and has been detrimental in the current climate. With all the doom and gloom within the media the knee-jerk reaction has been that anything within financial services is bad.

“We as an industry need to ensure there is clarity and understanding and explain the impact of delaying or reducing pension provision. The legislators also need to connect with reality and short sightedness in relation to potential reduction in tax reliefs are not the answer to what will become an enormous problem for society in the years to come.”