Tuesday 18th July 2006
New research from the Department for Work and Pensions has revealed that there is strong support among the public for personal pension accounts.
The face-to-face research showed that respondents were prepared to pay between five and ten per cent of their gross annual salary into a centralised fund, such as the proposed National Pension Savings Scheme.
Bridging the pension gap by encouraging employee involvement in a national, default scheme was found to be popular.
Participants felt that incorporating employer contributions would be a strong incentive, but at the same time it would be particularly important for the account to be transferable from one employer to another.
It has been noted before by research that the public feels pension scheme information is complicated and full of jargon, which was reflected again in the study.
"Clear and concise information about personal accounts was called for spontaneously by participants, especially as the technical language surrounding pensions was seen as jargon," the report states.
It continues: "However, in contrast, those earning over £30,000 and those currently contributing to a pension scheme in the sample tended to call for more details to enable them to weight up their choices."
Low earners raised concerns that the scheme would be unaffordable, while high earners spoke of the possibility that they would be able to get a better deal elsewhere.
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