According to a February 2013 survey of over 2,000 UK adults, conducted by YouGov on behalf of Duncan Lawrie Private Bank, 38% of respondents who are pension savers and who have at least one private pension pot, have never reviewed their plan, while 14% have not done so in the last three years.
Women appeared to be less attentive than men when keeping track of their pension, with 43% admitting to never having checked, compared to a third of men (33%). Even more concerning was that 49% of people aged over 55 claim never to have checked their pension pot.
The research also revealed that 9% of people in the UK don’t know or cannot recall how many pensions they currently have, highlighting the importance of making sure that pension plans are constantly reviewed.
In spite of this evidence of a lack of concern on the part of savers, the research also highlights that more people are now aware of the shortcomings in their pension saving and the likely effects on their retirement plans. People may be putting off reviewing their pension pot because they believe that they will not be able to retire until much later in their lives.
While most people (67%) would ideally like to retire before they reach 60, over a quarter of people (27 per cent) believe that realistically, they will not be able to retire until 70 or over. Such people appear to be not reviewing their pension strategy until much later in life.
Sources: www.duncanlawrie.com
