Pessimism abounds over savings plans

The government will not be able to close Britain's savings gap, even with their radical plans to encourage greater pensions provision and savings.

12:24 12 August 2005

The government will not be able to close Britain's savings gap, even with their radical plans to encourage greater pensions provision and savings.

This is the opinion of 80 per cent of financial advisers surveyed by Winterarthur Life at a recent IFA roadshow. 15 per cent of those surveyed believe that the government's measures will have no impact, and around 67 per cent believe it will have little effect.

Quoted on IFA online, Mike Kellard, CEO of Wintarthur Life commented that their findings showed that there was little confidence among financial advisers that a governmental "silver bullet" would help close the savings gap.

50 per cent of those surveyed believe that compulsion is the most effective means by which to close the gap, with a fifth of respondents believing that tax incentives would help close the gap.

Twenty per cent of advisers believe that increased public confidence in the system would reduce the savings deficit.

This research is published just after it was revealed that the pension deficits of the FTSE 100 companies are closing at a frustratingly slow rate.