According to the research, the new freedoms place even greater responsibility on individuals to take control of their own finances. In March 2014, George Osborne announced an unprecedented liberalisation in the way people can spend their accumulated pension savings. Yet 18 months on from the one of the most radical overhauls of pension policy in a generation, one in four (26%) people aged over 50 donât know the value of their accumulated pension savings.
Those who can, estimate on average that they have a pension pot worth just over ÂŁ110,000. However, a fifth (22%) state that they have saved less than ÂŁ50,000 into their pension. 12% reckon their pension pot value to range between ÂŁ50,000 and ÂŁ100,000 in total.
Andrew Tully at Retirement Advantage commented:
ââWeâd recommend that if you donât know the size of your pension pot, you should speak to your pension provider and get a statement. Forewarned is forearmed. Taking control and knowing what you have can help you plan to make your savings work harder for you in retirement.
The new pension freedoms place a huge amount of responsibility on people to manage their own financial affairs, who will make choices which will impact their standard of living in retirement. This is not something that people can be complacent about, so if you have any doubt, seek proper independent financial advice before making any decisions.ââ
The research, which was conducted by YouGov plc in August 2015, also revealed men were more likely to know the value of their pensions, with 22% saying they didnât know compared to 31% of women.
Sources: www.retirementadvantage.com (Article: 2015/09/14)
