Government urged to tackle retirement savings

The government is once again being urged to do more to tackle the current level of saving for retirement.

09:09 22 July 2005

The government is once again being urged to do more to tackle the current level of saving for retirement.

Nationalist SDLP deputy leader Dr Alasdair McDonnell says he would like to see the government engaged in a campaign to raise public awareness.

He believes the best way to encourage people to save regularly is to run pensions workshops in companies, schools and community centres.

"The Government must make it easier for people to save for their retirement," explained the South Belfast MP.

"One of the best ways of doing this is to make the process of starting and changing a pension easier to understand."

He argued that it was not ignorance that was preventing a savings culture but rather a lack of knowledge and access to information.

"While many people are concerned about the state of their pension they lack the basic information needed to make informed choices about the health of their investments in what is a notoriously complex area.

"There certainly needs to be a real and effective education drive to boost public knowledge on pensions for all age groups."

Recent research from the Pensions Commission estimated that more than 12 million people in the UK are not saving adequately for their retirement.

As a result, it is thought many will need to continue working until they are 70.