A new survey reveals the extent of the looming pension crisis in the UK, as 21 per cent of British workers have no pension savings.
Of those that do, 80 per cent had no idea how much they will need in their pension pot when it comes to retiring.
The remainder hazard a guess that £275,000 will allow them to afford a comfortable retirement.
The poll of 2,000 full time workers showed that only a quarter of those with a pension know how much they have saved so far, while the same figure don’t even know what they pay in each month.
The survey by Printerland.co.uk discovered that the average person doesn’t start to pay into a pension until they’re 27 years old, with 5 per cent avoiding or unable to make any payments until they are in their 40s.
Two thirds of workers couldn’t even guess how much state pension they might get and 40 per cent didn’t know at what age they’d become eligible. However, the majority of Brits were hoping to cash-in aged 65.
Times are a-changing as the average millennial began paying in to their pension at age 23 whereas the over 55s admitted to leaving it until they were 30 years old.
Those working in law enforcement and security currently boast the biggest pensions pots, with £200,000, followed by those in transport and logistics (£123,169) and property and construction (£111,026). Those putting aside the least include those in the media, marketing and information research.
And the job sectors with the most employees with pensions, include law enforcement (95 per cent), science and pharmaceuticals (90 per cent) and insurance (89 per cent), while those in in environment and agriculture, are least likely to hold one.
The average Brit earns £31,493 and has £17,462 saved for their future but 8 per cent have no money saved at all.
Catherine Bannan, HR manager at Printerland.co.uk says, ‘It’s worth remembering that by law, every employer needs to provide a Workplace Pension Scheme by 2018. As businesses, we need to ensure that we match the minimum percentage of our employees’ ‘qualifying earnings’.
‘Employers also have an obligation to educate their employees on how the Workplace Pension Scheme operates, and how they can ensure they start futureproofing their retirement as soon as possible.’
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