Pensions are "still confusing" says SL research

One in every two Brits has no clear idea of how pensions work, where the money is invested or how much should be saved to achieve a satisfactory pension later in life, Standard Life says.

This comes as figures from research - conducted on behalf of SL - suggest most people consider 50-70% of their current net income as being enough for a comfortable retirement.

Yet, a majority of the people polled expect it will be hard to save a sufficient amount of money needed for an adequate pension.

Most people seem to be aware that they aren't saving enough, but only one third say they predict to save more in the coming year, SL says.

Despite lack of saving, the research shows that 65% of the working population trust their personal pension provider and that 82% intend to stay with their existing provider.

One of the key points lifted forward in the survey is how to improve people's understanding of pensions. According to the majority, a regular update on how much people could expect to receive in retirement based on current contributions, would best increase the general understanding.

Promoting its new annual pension statement - first sent out to customer in April 2003 - SL's marketing director Martin Slater says:

"Pensions can be complicated but we are working hard to make them more understandable. We are now sending pension statements on an annual basis which provide a clear indication of what people can expect to receive in retirement."

But not only private pensions seem to create confusion as the research highlights that understanding of state pension benefits is also varied.

While most people seem to fully comprehend the value of the basic state pension, only one in ten have a clear idea of what is meant by the Pensions Credit.

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