Pension Plans Survey - Direct Line
A recent MORI survey shows that 92% think that there will come a time when the state pension does not provide for people, with a private pension being required to make ends meet.
Despite this, nearly half (46%) have a state pension only, 29% have a company pension that both they and their employer pay into and 19% have a personal pension plan. Just over two-thirds (68%) think that it should be compulsory for people to make contributions to their own personal pension if they are earning.
Nearly three-quarters say that they will not be or are not totally dependent on the state when they retire or now that they are retired. Of these people, 73% said they intend to or currently fund themselves in retirement through savings, endowments or other investments.
Of those with a non-state pension and who are not retired, 37% say that they worry they will not have enough money in their pension to cope when they retired. This figure increases to 59% for those with only a state pension and are not retired. Forty five per cent of these people said they had not taken out a pension as they had too many other financial commitments at the moment and couldn't afford it.
Nearly half of all asked say that they are not surprised that up to 100% of the first year's contributions to a private pension plan can be absorbed in charges. Thirty-eight per cent were not surprised that about 30% of all personal pension plans lapse within three years and leave a fund with less than a third of the value paid into it and 26% were not surprised that most pension plans do not allow you to take payment holidays without incurring penalties.
When asked, of your current pension arrangement what you expect your life to be like once you have retired and now that you have retired what best describes your personal circumstances, the following answers were given:-
| Not Retired | Retired | |
| % | % | |
| I will / have enough money to relax & enjoy myself | 22 | 20 |
| I will be / am secure and stable but not well-off | 41 | 41 |
| Things will be / are tight but I'll / I manage | 27 | 31 |
| Things will / are difficult | 8 | 6 |
| Don't Know | 3 | 1 |
Base: Not retired - 820, Retired - 180
Of all those working full or part-time, 57% think that it is unlikely that they would have to take early retirement due to the state of the job market and 47% think it would be unlikely that they would have to continue working for longer than intended because they couldn't afford to retire.
Technical details:MORI interviewed 1000 adults aged 18+ by telephone between 10-22 December 1997.Data were weighted to the known profile of the population.
