Savers’ confidence in their retirement funds has returned to 2021 levels of 30.9 per cent, despite a previous increase to 31.7 per cent in 2022, research from Trafalgar House has found.

Its Trust and Confidence Index found that the number of respondents who believe they have much less than they need for retirement increased from 44.6 per cent to 47.8 per cent.

When asked whether they felt they would be able to retire at their normal retirement date, earlier, or later to meet their needs, just over half of respondents (53.7 per cent) felt they would either need to retire late, never, or said they simply don’t know.

Statistics also showed that confidence among members in their own decisions remains higher than their belief in the role of the industry and others.

Indeed, respondents’ confidence in their choice of where their pensions are held rose from 63.4 per cent to 64.6 per cent, while confidence in investment choices increased from 57.9 per cent to 58.4 per cent.

Confidence in the level of charges that apply to respondents’ pensions also rose from 45.9 per cent to 46.7 per cent.

However, members’ feelings about the amount they have saved fell slightly from 53.5 per cent to 52.2 per cent.

“There are some really interesting things to note in this section of the results, perhaps controversially, it could be considered a good thing that confidence in having enough funds to retire has dropped,” commented Trafalgar House client director, Daniel Taylor.

“As an industry, we have long worried that the general public haven’t been realistic enough about their retirement pot, grossly underestimating needs and failing to take into account the cost of living, longer life spans and an over reliance on state pension provision, all meaning they would be in for a big shock - this would also have a huge impact on economy not to mention social factors.

“It could be argued that if there is an acknowledgement there won’t be enough, more can be done to address that, and earlier.”

Taylor said that it is also “interesting” that member’s confidence in their own decision-making is up and higher than belief in the role of industry and others in meeting their needs.

He continued: “Where this confidence is coming from is another question. Our last results showed that member communication was the most important factor in building trust – does this mean we are doing something right?

“The fact is, members will be responsible for more than ever before when it comes to decision-making at retirement so it is crucial they are empowered to make those decisions, and not doing anything detrimental that could undo years of hard work and savings.

“The realism around expected retirement dates is also reassuring, albeit disappointing as a whole.”

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