Personal pension survey

ONLY a quarter of people aged between 45 and 65 who have recently started personal pension schemes regret not starting them sooner, according to an opinion poll, writes Nic Cicutti.

Yet more than two thirds of British people who pay into a personal pension scheme will still rely on their state pension to meet the bulk of their needs at retirement.

Most people believe their greatest problems in old age will be financial, with just 2 per cent of those polled saying their worst fear is their health. While most of those polled say it is necessary to start a personal pension before the age of 20, only 18 per cent of young people in the 16 to 24 age bracket agree - a 44 per cent drop since last year.

The poll was carried out by Gallup for Abbey National in February among more than 1,000 adults.

It found that 71 per cent of people do not know what percentage of salary they contribute towards a pension. More than half have no idea what level of income they will receive in retirement.

Ian Gilmour, managing director of Abbey National's life insurance subsidiary, said the poll's findings suggested that people should begin preparing for their retirement as soon as possible.

He said: 'Given the current legislative discussions regarding the future of state pensions, the key to security will obviously be in long- term arrangements.'