Retirement confidence on the rise, finds Aegon

The firm's biennial Retirement Confidence Survey - conducted in July - revealed 52% of the 830 respondents felt comfortable about reaching retirement, up from 48% in the previous survey.

However, the firm warned overconfidence about retirement carries risks as many savers remain in the dark when it comes to arrangements for funding their retirement.

The survey revealed one in 10 people have no pension savings at all, while a quarter are unaware of how much they have in their saving pots.

Pensions director Steven Cameron said it is "worrying that a significant minority of people don't know how much they have in their pension".

More than a third of respondents (36%) stated they had never estimated their income needs for retirement, leaving them at "significant risk of being unable to maintain their existing lifestyle".

While this is down from 43% in the previous survey, Aegon said the "pace of change needs to accelerate to make a real difference".

Cameron said it is "encouraging" to see a growing confidence in savers in their ability to retire comfortably but noted: "We must remain realistic. Overconfidence carries risks and people must not be lulled into a false sense of security.

"While auto-enrolment (AE) means millions of employees are saving more for retirement, that doesn't mean they're on target for the retirement they aspire to or to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living. Furthermore, the growing population of self-employed are excluded from AE and can't rely on an employer to support their retirement funding."

Of those who stated they are unaware of how much they have in their pension pot, 30% were aged between 35 and 54. A fifth (19%) were aged between 55 and 64, which Aegon said was a "significant" figure "considering how close they are to retirement".

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• Topics
• Industry
• Aegon
• consumer confidence
• Steven Cameron
• retirement saving
• Survey
• AE