A report by pensions and insurance provider AXA indicates that the current crisis in the pensions industry is likely to worsen in the next few years.

According to the report, more than three in five UK citizens expect to rely on their state pension as their main source of income in retirement, as many businesses close their pension schemes to workers, and fewer people opt to join a private pension scheme.

According to the survey, 64% of UK residents plan to rely on their state pension for income after they are forced to give up work.

One in five 25-34 year olds believes they will able to release equity in their home to help finance them through their retirement, despite the fact that a shortage of supply and tighter lending criteria could mean many people are blocked from climbing onto the housing ladder.

Meanwhile, 44% of respondents said they would tap into their savings to bolster their income during retirement.
However, Steve Folkard, head of savings and pensions policy at AXA says that people cannot rely on savings to fund their way through retirement, and need to take decisive action to make sure they have adequate provisions when they stop working.

“The erosion of the once sound company pensions infrastructure in the UK, which supported the retirement needs of the working population over much of the 20th century presents a future government with a massive challenge,” he said.

“There has to be a concerted, coordinated effort to make sure that people are adequately provided for, or we will inevitably be faced with a pensions dark age.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 10:59 am and is filed under Retirement, Savings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.