Public trust in the pensions industry has increased for the fourth consecutive year, according to research by third-party pensions administrator Trafalgar House.
Its annual Trust and confidence index, which surveyed more than 2,000 people aged 18 and above to understand how the British public feel about the pensions industry, asked respondents to rate their trust in the industry using a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being ‘not at all’ and 10 being ‘a lot’.
The results found that trust in the pensions industry rose to 5.26 out of 10 in 2023, up from 4.95 in 2022, 4.63 in 2021 and 4.46 in 2020. This represents a total increase of 18% since 2020. There was an increase in positive scoring, with ‘a reasonable amount’ rising by 5.8% and ‘a lot’ climbing 0.9%.
The survey also found a reduction in negative scoring among respondents, with ‘do not trust at all’ falling 1.8% and ‘don’t trust much’ down by 1.3%. The response ‘to some extent’ also dropped by 3.5%. Only 22% said they do not have any or much trust in the pensions industry.
Daniel Taylor, client director at Trafalgar House, said: “While it is certainly encouraging to see a positive headline figure and a growth in public confidence over the last four years, we must remain mindful that this is a nuanced picture as the survey also reveals underlying concerns. When asked how their trust in pensions affects how they feel about their level of savings for retirement, almost six in 10 still say the industry has no impact on their retirement savings. This indicates that for most, pensions are not being considered as the predominant retirement plan.
“Although the lower negative trust score is good, this hasn’t translated into a broader positive feeling about retirement prospects. For trust in the industry to have negative or no impact on people’s savings habits, is a dark cloud over the industry that needs to change.”