74pc of Britons envy their parents’ pensions, as unemployment rises

LONDON | The future is an economic frightening sight for the younger generations in the UK. Up to 79% of Britons anticipate their income as pensioners will be too low or inflation will erode their savings. Only 26% of people believe they will be better off than their parents when they retire.

penface11A survey released Wednesday by Vision Critical shows that more than 17.2 million of British people think their personal finances will be in worse state after their working life is finished in contrast with their parents’, who are perceived as a ‘golden generation’ that has benefitted from significant gains in the value of their property and generous final salary pensions.

Data also indicated that one quarter (27%) of those with private pensions increased their contributions in the last 12 months.

The apprehensions may be justified. The Office for National Statistics said today in London that unemployment-benefit claims climbed by 7,200 from January to 1.612 million. The figure beats City expectations, which pointed at 5,000. Jobless numbers in the UK remain at the highest rate since 1995, at 8.4pc as measured by International Labour Organization standards. The number of people employed in the public sector fell by 37,000 between September an December 2011 to reach 5.94 million, the lowest figure since June 2003.

Furthermore, with many consumers continuing to feel the effects of the wider economic pressures, new research published today by The Co-operative Bank stated that one in five (20%) actually have no savings set aside for life’s emergencies.

“Perhaps unsurprisingly young people are the most likely age group to struggle to save,” the bank said, “with those under 35 years old three times more likely than adults over 55 years old to have no savings. “

One in 20 (5%) Britons in the Vision Critical survey explained that their biggest fear is being forced to sell their home. Less than a quarter (22%) are confident they will have sufficient reserves of income to stop working, particularly given the current level of economic uncertainly. As a consequence, one in five (21%) people are planning to find themselves working on average another six and a half years.

About the Author

Victor Jimenez
London contributor at thecorner.eu, reporting about the City and the Eurozone economies. He regularly writes for Spanish newspaper group Prensa Ibérica--some of his features include shared work with journalists of The Daily Telegraph and the BBC.

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