After years of publicity about the need to save for retirement, more than a third of workers still do not know how much to set aside for their later years, according to a new study.
Even worse, 13% have not saved a penny towards their retirement and are running out of time to make any significant savings.
And this is against the backdrop of Brexit, with 40% of savers saying they feel leaving the European Union will damage their ability to save.
Pension provider Aegon asked nearly a thousand people about how they were saving for retirement, and 36% confessed they did not know how much money they would need when they gave up work or if they were saving the right amount.
Alarm bells
Steven Cameron, pensions director at the firm, said: “These figures should set alarm bells ringing. Despite the introduction of auto-enrolment, there are still many individuals who are entirely unprepared for retirement.
“Many people may put off finding out how much they have saved, fearing it will be less than they’d hoped or will need.
“But however unsettling, the earlier you carry out a reality check, the more chance you have of doing something to get back on track.
“It’s worrying to see that many approaching retirement age don’t know how much they have saved for retirement and only one in five are on track to maintain their lifestyle.”
The research also revealed that only 17% of savers will go into retirement with a pension pot worth £300,000.
Brexit link
Many aged between 55 and 64 years old now will enter retirement faced with cutting their spending or taking a job to maintain their lifestyle.
“Many savers are drawing a link between Brexit and how their pension fund investments will perform going forward, with more expecting a negative than positive impact,” said Cameron.
“It’s important to bear in mind that pensions are particularly long-term investments, so people shouldn’t be overly concerned if there are short to medium-term movements in fund values.
“Saving regularly is a good way of ironing out ups and downs in the market.”
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