Almost all (92%) of respondents believe that it was a good idea for the government to introduce auto-enrolment, according to research by Hargreaves Lansdown.
Its survey of 635 employees, which marks almost three years since auto-enrolment’s initial implementation in October 2012, also found that just 30% of respondents are aware of their retirement options.
The study also found:
- 70% feel their understanding of pensions has improved since being auto-enrolled into a pension for the first time.
- 83% of respondents are aware of how much they are contributing to their pension, yet 61% do not feel this is sufficient for a comfortable retirement.
- 75% of respondents do not know when they will retire.
- 55% of respondents do not know where their pension pot is invested.
Nathan Long, head of corporate pensions research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Auto-enrolment has not simply dumped more people into pensions; it has also improved the understanding of employees about saving for retirement.
“While it is good news that people are not kidding themselves that auto-enrolment alone will be sufficient, there are clearly reasons why these people do not feel able to save more which the government should look to address.”
