Debt ‘prevents pension saving’

Existing debt is stopping a number of people in the UK from paying into a pension scheme, a new study has revealed.

Lincoln Financial Group found that nearly one-quarter of adults are not saving for retirement, with 23 per cent reporting outstanding loans and debt as the main factor.

Head of products and marketing at the organisation Simon O’Connor said: “Clearly people’s finances are stretched at the moment. Unfortunately, this can lead some people to push pension contributions to the bottom of the priority list.”

Individuals should consider their long-term options as pensions are still the most effective way of ensuring sufficient funds upon retirement, he added.

Other reasons for not saving into a scheme included ten per cent of people stating they were unaware of their options and 15 per cent saying they “hadn’t got around to sorting it”.

This follows recent statistics released by the Citizens Advice Bureau that showed the volume of debt enquiries received by their offices had increased to 1.93 million new problems between April 2008 and March 2009.

By Francis Finch