29 October 2004
Over 95% of public servants are not saving enough for a comfortable retirement, often because they are confused about how schemes work, a leading pensions expert has warned.
Richard Harrison, head of public sector pensions at Prudential, urged councils to better communicate the benefits of their pensions packages when he addressed the Local Government Pension Committee's annual trustees' conference in York on October 25.
'The vast majority of people are concerned about their ability to enjoy their time in retirement and yet less than 5% were actually doing something about it,' Harrison said.
If his figures are accurate, it means that, contrary to ministers' claims, the public sector is at least as exposed to the escalating UK pensions crisis as the private sector.
Harrison's view was echoed by Bryan King, founder member of the Pre-Retirement Association Financial Awareness Project, who said research now showed that people find pensions too complex and would rather devote their cash to other things.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has launched a consultation exercise aimed at overhauling local government pensions and encouraging wider membership.
Terry Crossley, head of local government pensions at the ODPM, told the conference: 'Too often the rationale for change has not been communicated effectively.'
PFoct2004
