Workplace pension schemes are now seen as the safest way to save for retirement, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Its Wealth and assets survey found that confidence has increased with 40% of individuals citing a workplace pension as the safest option to save in the period from July 2012 to June 2014.
This is in comparison to 35% in the period between July 2010 to June 2012, and 37% from July 2008 to June 2010.
But despite this increased confidence in pensions, the survey highlighted that, in the period between July 2012 and June 2014, 59% of people were not confident of having enough income in retirement to maintain the standard of living they were hoping for.
The report also showed that knowledge around a number of workplace pension reforms, such as auto-enrolment, increased over the same period.
It found that from July to September 2012, 40% of people said they had not heard of any reforms, compared to just 8% between April and June 2014.
The research also found that 58% would retire between the ages of 65 and 69 than in previous years. This has risen from 54% in the period July 2010 to June 2014 with people believing they would retire between 65 and 69.
Malcolm McLean, senior consultant at Barnett Waddingham, said: “Results published by the ONS confirm that, in the minds of the public, employer-based pension schemes are seen as the safest way to save for retirement and confidence in them has increased significantly in recent times.
“Knowledge surrounding workplace pension reforms has also increased substantially, which is further evidence of the success of auto-enrolment to date.
“There appears to be a growing realisation that later retirement ages are becoming the norm, with 58% thinking they would retire at 65 to 69 in the period July 2012 to June 2014, up from 54% in the period July 2010 to June 2012.
“While this is all good news and bodes well for retirement saving generally, there is still something of a mountain to climb before we can feel confident that the majority of the population can look forward to a financially secure retirement.
“Indeed when asked, many individuals said they were not confident of having enough income in retirement to maintain the standard of living they were hoping for.
“Whether the current extensive reforms to pensions both in the public and private sectors will have the capacity to improve the situation even further remains to be seen.”
