Confidence in pensions among employees has risen in the past 12 months, according to research by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).
Its Workplace pensions survey, which measures employees’ perspectives on workplace pension savings and their preparations for retirement, found that confidence, particularly among staff already saving into a pension scheme or those that have been auto-enrolled, has risen from 50% to 59% in the past 12 months, its highest level since 2010.
The past year has seen the biggest increase in pension scheme membership among respondents aged 18 to 44, up from 41% to 48%.
The research also found:
- Male respondents (53%) are more likely to be confident about pensions than female respondents (35%).
- 67% of respondents who are already saving are confident about managing their pension.
- Average opt-out rates among respondents is 12%.
- Of those who have opted out, 47% did so because they cannot afford to save into a pension.
Joanne Segars (pictured), chief executive of the NAPF, said: “We knew that auto-enrolment would be a game changer, but it would appear that it has had a positive impact on confidence in pensions too, which is welcome news indeed.
“However, because up to 10 million people will be brought into pension savings by 2018, the challenge for all of us in the industry is to keep opt-out rates low, increase confidence in pensions and encourage employees to save more for their retirement.”
