More than one in five Brits aren’t saving for their pensions

The UK could be facing a pension crisis as studies reveal 21% of British workers admit they don’t have any savings in their pensions, and 80% of those with savings in place don’t know how much they will need in their pension pot before retiring.

Only one quarter of workers surveyed by Printerland knew how much money they have saved so far, while a further quarter don’t even know what they pay in each month. Confusion seemed widespread across employers, with two thirds not even able to guess how much pension they’ll receive upon retirement, and 40% not knowing the age they would become eligible. The average person doesn’t start paying into their pension until the age of 27, with 5% even revealing they were unable to make any payments into their 40s.

The average Brit saves around £17,000 for their future, with jobs in law enforcement and technology having much bigger pension pots. While a majority hope to cash in and retire by 65, many over 55s admit to not putting plans in place until they were 30 years old. This figure has changed, however, as with more enforcement for pension schemes at work, the Millennials are starting to pay into their pensions on average from the age of 23.

By law, all employers must provide a pension scheme by next year, with many across the country already enforcing this, but Printerland believes companies need to do more to keep their workers informed of what they can be doing to safeguard their future.

“As businesses, we need to ensure that we match the minimum percentage of our employees’ ‘qualifying earnings,’” said Catherine Bannan, HR Manager at Printerland. “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.”

More more information, you can read the full report here