More than half (52 per cent) of vulnerable defined benefit (DB) pension scheme members worry about money when thinking about retirement, a survey from Just Group has shown.

This is more than double the 25 per cent of non-vulnerable DB scheme members that are concerned about money in retirement.

Money concerns were the primary worry of those not feeling supported with retirement planning, followed by a loss of social interaction, health concerns, loss of purpose, and boredom.

Those who felt support were found to be less concerned about all of these potential worries, apart from boredom, which they were more likely to be concerned about.

Vulnerable members were more likely to have been prompted into retirement planning by a communication from their pension provider, with one in three doing so, compared to one in seven who are not vulnerable.

Overall, nearly a third (29 per cent) of DB scheme members would like more proactive communication, while the same proportion were keen on improved online functionality, and 28 per cent wanted assistance and education on how DB pensions work.

Just Group’s research also found differences between age cohorts, with those aged 71 and older with DB pensions more likely to have one “big chunk” of DB they are relying on.

Meanwhile, those aged 61 to 65 had nearly two chunks of DB on average.

“It’s interesting that cash ISAs come out next [on retirement savings vehicle popularity],” stated Just Group head of proposition development, Andy Fryer.

“It appears that over half of individuals have these products. We asked the members: ‘What do you have that you’re actually going to use as part of your core retirement strategy for living?’ The data suggests that, for the pensioners, it’s all about discretionary spending, the ISAs for them, the luxuries, the holidays, the rainy-day money. But almost twice as many of the younger group were saying the ISA formed a core part of their retirement plan.

“The older group are juggling with three to five products, bits of income, of which DB is the main one. The younger group, half a generation on, has more like seven to nine things they are juggling on average.

“Those who were on top of their retirement, and felt supported and confident with it, they’ve given us a steady list of potential concerns, whereas the members who do not supported and are not confident paint a very different picture, and by far the biggest concern is money concerns.”

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