Apparently, the number of employed people in the UK saving into a pension has decreased to an all time low of just 48%.
I would have thought that having to rely on the Government State Pension alone in retirement was enough of an incentive to do something yourself.
Could you live on £7,488 (flat rate being proposed from April 2017) now? I am not that surprised with the low level of pension contributors.
After all, pensions have not had the best of press over the years.
And that is one of the problems, people believe what they read in the Press.
Therefore if "the Press" says pensions are bad, then Joe Public believes that pensions are bad.
But actually, Joe Public doesn't really understand what pensions are or how they work! The government have a lot to answer for, they have not helped the situation by making so many changes to pension rules.
It's no wonder Joe Public is confused by pensions when even the pension industry has trouble keeping up with the latest round of 'simplification'.
It seems that many people just want to ignore the looming problem of funding their retirement, instead of being savvy and getting financial advice from an expert, so that they can plan to be able to afford to retire.
Pensions plans are not the only way to save for an income in retirement but they are the only investment that can guarantee at least a 20% initial increase (due to the tax relief applied to personal contributions) Another concern is that lots of people have a pension of one sort or another - often from previous jobs or from when finances weren't as tough.
Our experience is that most people don't have a clue what they have, where they are held, what they are invested in or what their options are.
To most, they are just a selection of envelopes lying at the back of the drawer.
Some are still invested in old style plans that have very high administration charges or some are invested in 'With Profits' funds that have earned an annual bonus of a staggering 0% - yes ZERO - for the last ten years! If you are guilty and have several pension plans that you have not looked into recently then get them out and do something about them.
Improving what you've got can only help you and your finances when you want to retire.
I would have thought that having to rely on the Government State Pension alone in retirement was enough of an incentive to do something yourself.
Could you live on £7,488 (flat rate being proposed from April 2017) now? I am not that surprised with the low level of pension contributors.
After all, pensions have not had the best of press over the years.
And that is one of the problems, people believe what they read in the Press.
Therefore if "the Press" says pensions are bad, then Joe Public believes that pensions are bad.
But actually, Joe Public doesn't really understand what pensions are or how they work! The government have a lot to answer for, they have not helped the situation by making so many changes to pension rules.
It's no wonder Joe Public is confused by pensions when even the pension industry has trouble keeping up with the latest round of 'simplification'.
It seems that many people just want to ignore the looming problem of funding their retirement, instead of being savvy and getting financial advice from an expert, so that they can plan to be able to afford to retire.
Pensions plans are not the only way to save for an income in retirement but they are the only investment that can guarantee at least a 20% initial increase (due to the tax relief applied to personal contributions) Another concern is that lots of people have a pension of one sort or another - often from previous jobs or from when finances weren't as tough.
Our experience is that most people don't have a clue what they have, where they are held, what they are invested in or what their options are.
To most, they are just a selection of envelopes lying at the back of the drawer.
Some are still invested in old style plans that have very high administration charges or some are invested in 'With Profits' funds that have earned an annual bonus of a staggering 0% - yes ZERO - for the last ten years! If you are guilty and have several pension plans that you have not looked into recently then get them out and do something about them.
Improving what you've got can only help you and your finances when you want to retire.
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