Number of pension savers 'has halved since 1991'

The current figures are boosted by the larger and more generous pension schemes of the Post Office and the BBC, which were reclassified as private sector in 2000. Personal pension contributions also fell, in particular between 2007 and 2010. Total contributions into personal pensions, including those from employers, fell from £20.8bn in 2007-08 to £18.7bn in 2009-10. The sharpest fall was in contributions by individuals to their personal pensions. In 2007-08 individual savers paid in £10.2bn, but in 2009-10, they paid in just £8bn. Darren Philp, of the National Association of Pe...