Women remain significantly less confident in the pensions industry than men, while younger savers continue to show the lowest levels of engagement with their retirement planning, research from Trafalgar House has revealed.

The third release from Trafalgar House’s 2026 Trust & Confidence Survey found that women were almost 50 per cent more likely than men to say they did not know how much they trusted the pensions industry, at 22 per cent compared with 15 per cent.

Just under a quarter (24 per cent) of women rated their trust in the industry at 7 or above out of 10, compared with 35 per cent of men.

Meanwhile, only 3 per cent of women awarded the industry the highest possible trust score, compared with 5 per cent of men.

The findings also highlighted a significant generational divide in pension engagement.

More than half (55 per cent) of people aged 18 to 24 said they had not interacted with their pension provider in the previous 12 months.

This was more than double the proportion among savers aged 55 and over who reported having no interaction with their provider (23 per cent).

The lower engagement levels among younger savers were reflected in their confidence: 34 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 said they did not know whether they trusted pension providers.

In addition, 42 per cent were uncertain whether their pension savings would allow them to live comfortably in retirement.

Trafalgar House said the results suggested the industry could be missing opportunities to build awareness and confidence among younger people at an earlier stage of their savings journey.

By comparison, older savers demonstrated higher levels of engagement with their pensions.

Indeed, almost half (48 per cent) of people aged 55 and over described their most recent interaction with their pension provider as positive, the highest proportion recorded across any age group.

However, greater engagement did not necessarily translate into confidence over retirement outcomes, with 40 per cent of respondents aged 55 and over saying they did not believe their pension would provide them with a comfortable retirement.

Trafalgar House noted that the findings indicated the causes of uncertainty differed across generations.

Among younger savers, uncertainty was accompanied by limited engagement and a lack of knowledge about whether they could trust their provider.

For those approaching or already nearing retirement, concerns were more likely to centre on whether they had accumulated enough savings to achieve their expected standard of living.

Overall, the research found that trust in the pensions industry was continuing to increase gradually, although uncertainty remained a significant barrier to action.

Trafalgar House client director, Daniel Taylor, argued that the results demonstrated the importance of distinguishing between trust in the wider industry and confidence in an individual’s retirement prospects.

“It is possible for trust in the industry to improve while many savers still feel uncertain about their own retirement position.

“This matters because trust is one of the conditions that enables people to take action. If savers lack confidence, feel unsure or fear making the wrong decision, they are more likely to disengage or defer decisions about their retirement.”

“The generational differences are particularly telling,” he continued.

“If younger savers are waiting until later in life to engage with their pensions, the industry risks missing valuable opportunities to build understanding and confidence.

“At the same time, older savers are engaging but are looking for reassurance that they are on track.”

Taylor warned that increasing the volume of pension communications would not, by itself, resolve the confidence gap, stressing that information needed to be accurate, understandable and relevant to the recipient.

“Trust is built when savers receive information they can rely on, in a form they can understand and use.

“Accuracy, clarity and relevance are what help turn communication into confidence, and confidence into action.”

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