The questionnaire was conducted amongst users of professional advice website, unbiased.co.uk. Of those visitors who were using the ‘find an IFA’ service, 35% were looking for retirement planning advice more than any other service when looking online.

Closely behind retirement planning, the results showed that the second most popular advice driver was investment planning and savings advice from which a quarter (25%) of users was looking for an IFA specialising in this area.

Financial planning can often be a complex area which is why the need for independent financial advice continues to be high as more and more consumers consider investments and long term financial planning for retirement.

With the coalition government ringing the changes across UK policy and talk of an emergency budget being declared, it is likely that consumers will be scrutinising their finances to help understand if and how the government’s changes to pensions and capital gains tax could affect them.

Retirement planning can be a daunting exploration for most individuals. Seeking advice from an independent financial adviser can help you explore fully, all possibilities available to you and your circumstances.

If you would like advice on retirement planning or investment planning in general, please feel free to call one of our expert advisers on 0114 272 3994

The survey questioned 7,500 workers across 10 European countries from which it was discovered that the UK had some of the highest levels of pension’s indifference in Europe.

The questionnaire revealed that one in five Britons are not sufficiently planning for their retirement because they could not afford to in the current state of economic recovery, while 12% stated that they hadn’t actually got around to starting a pension.

Of the UK workers questioned as part of the survey, 12% declared an open interest in pensions, whereas nearly half (47%) of participants said that their employer currently provides them with one, a low figure when compared with the fact that it is now a legal requirement for all workers to have access to a pension scheme.

Analysing the results, 5% of participants completely dismissed the idea of retirement planning by stating that they were simply going to live off the state pension when they were older and so hadn’t looked into any other form of investment planning.

In contrast to those individuals who were not looking to participate in a pension scheme, 4% of British workers said that they put a large amount of their income into a pension pot because of the tax breaks available from doing so.

With the newly elected coalition government looking at ways to reduce pension obligations, it is imperative that individuals begin to take more responsibility for their retirement finances or face the very real prospect of ‘walking blindly’ into retirement poverty.

For further information regarding retirement planning and financial planning in general, please contact one of our expert advisers on 0114 272 3994.

The results were taken from global workforce study of 20,000 employees from private sector organisations across 22 countries. It highlighted that while 37 per cent are comfortable with the responsibility of managing their retirement, 28 per cent disagreed and 34 per cent were uncertain.

Questions were asked regarding the employees current situation with regards to their pension scheme as well as their expectations over the next five years.

With regards to their current retirement planning, more than two thirds (68 per cent) of employees believe that they are personally responsible for their own retirement income needs, with 18 per cent feeling that the responsibility lies with their employer and 15 per cent saying it is the government’s responsibility.

Looking ahead over the next five years, 75 per cent of the employees who were questioned as part of the study said that they felt their pension scheme would primarily be their responsibility, with those suggesting that their employer would be responsible being reduced to 15 per cent and those citing the Government being lowered to 10 per cent.

The results also stated that more than a third of the census will continue to work during retirement due to financial reasons.

Analysts pointed out that the results of the survey showed that a majority of employees were aware of the personal responsibility for managing their finances after retirement. Despite this knowledge, it was highlighted that many employees do not actually feel comfortable managing the provision of their retirement income needs.

Some people choose to make investments in stocks and shares whilst others invest shrewdly in the property market. The most common form of retirement planning and saving for many people is to make regular contributions to a pension scheme.

Following recent research into some of these pension schemes on offer, it has been revealed that the UK’s retirement savers could be missing out on an extra £742 million in tax relief by not making additional contributions to their pension schemes.

The research highlighted that employees who contributed to company pension schemes would be the most likely to miss out by neglecting to save in a tax efficient manner. Taxpayers who are part of their employers’ occupational pension scheme will miss out on an extra £742 million in tax relief through their failure to make Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs).

AVCs run in conjunction with pension schemes and allow employees to pay extra into their pension pot, allowing for a larger payout on retirement. This is considered a tax efficient method of saving as AVCs also benefit from the same tax reliefs as main pension plans.

Financial planners have expressed their concern that failing to plan and ultimately save for retirement has become an increasing problem for the UK population. They have also stated that this situation has not been helped by the financial chaos of the past two years in which the value of peoples savings have dropped and so others have been put off retirement planning as day to day financial worries have taken priority.

If you are seeking advice on retirement planning, or simply require investment advice in general, feel free to contact one of our financial experts on 0114 272 3994.

The survey, carried out by the Department for Work and Pensions revealed that only 17 per cent of people disagreed that putting money into a pension was the best form of retirement planning. Despite this, just 48 per cent of people are currently saving for their retirement in this way.

Of all those questioned, young people were revealed to be the most likely to delay setting aside any money for future provisions when they cease working, with 80 per cent of those aged between 18 to 24 and 50 per cent of those aged between 25 and 34 currently not saving.

Despite the diminished figure of those participating in retirement planning, separate research revealed that people’s confidence in the British economy was increasing. Around 44 per cent of people are now confident that the will improve in 2010.

Experts believe that tackling the level of under-saving is a huge challenge that needs to be seriously address should Britain want to avoid widespread poverty.

The UK economy and individuals alike should be encouraged to save and plan their retirement, creating the foundations of a strong saving culture.

If you feel the time is right to participate in retirement or investment planning, please contact us on 0114 272 3994 for more advice.

Using the recently unveiled “Fit for Future” programme, The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), who currently represent 1,200 UK schemes, are hoping to reshape the country’s ailing pension and retirement industry. The programme will look to build on the Governments 2012 pension reforms, which will see employees automatically enrolled into existing employers pension schemes or into a new system of personal accounts.

In the report, the NAPF proposes that a new state “foundation pension” be introduced. This would combine the current, basic state pension and state second pension. Should this be implemented, it would be worth around £8,000 per year (£25 per week) for pensioners.

It was also suggested by the NAPF that workplace pension provision could be improved by the introduction of “super trusts” which are managed by a board of trustees. These would be offered on a regional, sectoral or national basis and add around 30 per cent to the eventual size of someone’s pension due to economies of scale.

In relation to retirement planning, the report also outlined the case for a single regulator in the UK pensions industry, combining the roles of the Pension Regulator and Financial Services Authority (FSA).

For further advice on retirement planning or investment planning in general, please feel free to get in touch with one of our expert advisors on 0114 272 3994 to see how we can help.

The new fund, set up by the National Employment Savings Trust, could end up becoming an expensive way of saving for some people due to the upfront charges that may lead to reduced retirement savings. As a result this may have a detrimental effect on future investment planning and deter individuals from saving rather than encourage them.

Despite the reservations put forward by financial advisors, between three million and six million people are expected to join ‘Nest’ as the Government plans to force all employers to enrol employees in a workplace savings scheme from 2012.

Nest will be the default option for any employer unable to offer employees alternative retirement saving schemes. So far however, the Government has refused to pay for any of the start-up costs and is instead offering a loan to the scheme. The initial 2 percent fee would help repay the loan and once the loan is paid in full, Nest will drop any further fees.

Financial analysts have been quick to criticise the new pension proposition by arguing that many of the low earners that the scheme is targeted at, will risk losing future benefits should they join. Further criticism is drawn from the fact that employers with in-house pension schemes may choose to downgrade their own financial terms to the level set by Nest.

For further advice on retirement planning or investment advice in general, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0114 272 3994 to speak to one of our financial advisors.

The legal action brought by the group of British expats was in relation to the current ‘frozen pensions’ policy affecting mostly retired Britons living in Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations. Even though they previously contributed to Britain’s mandatory National Insurance Scheme during their working lives, their current pensions during retirement, are not indexed annually against inflation.

The appeal bench at the ECHR found that Britain’s long standing ‘frozen pensions’ policy was therefore not discriminatory.

The legal ruling brings to a close an epic legal fight mounted by various British pensioner organisations based in Australia, Canada and South Africa, who continually argued their case for parity through several appeal courts. Should their legal action been successful, they could have expected to receive an extra £200 million in pension payments this year.

The decision by the ECHR has not been looked upon favourably by Commonwealth governments who believe that the final judgement could be discriminatory as it continues to place an increasing burden on their respective nation’s taxpayers.

Reasons for the Increase?

Such news has come at a time when it has recently been announced that the UK has emerged from the recession, with economic growth being recorded at 0.1% over the last 3 months of 2009. The PPF acknowledged this as a contributing factor in the fortuitous rise of pension schemes positions, but also stated that improvements could also be down to higher share prices and improved returns on government bonds (gilts).

With a direct impact on personal pension plans, the financial recovery has yielded higher returns on UK government bonds, which in effect has meant that the cost of paying for pensions in the future has dropped by nearly 6%.

Volatile Market

Over the past two years especially, pension planning and investment has been a particularly cautious topic for many people as pension fund finances have been extremely volatile.

Pension funds are susceptible not only to the fluctuation of assets traded on the financial markets, they also respond to assumptions used to estimate the cost of supplying future pension plans. The emergence of a huge deficit within the economy, that according to experts cannot be effectively controlled, has led many employers to close the doors on all final salary pension schemes, which has also had direct repercussions for financial investment and pension planning.

With the potential volatility ringing in many people’s ears, and recent announcements calling for over 65’s to carry on working, the news of strong equitable returns and rising gilt yields from investment schemes has been more than a welcomed sigh of relief for pension members.

The report was conducted amid calls for the government to draw up a national savings strategy and review income replacement policies.

Desired Outcomes

Upon submitting the report, TISA reiterated their on-going support for the notion of a workplace ISA which would help contribute to a more flexible savings approach to help finance retirement.

The original idea of a workplace ISA was proposed by TISA back in 2008 as a method of complementing the existing pension system. Senior officials believe that the newly proposed system of retirement savings will provide a less restrictive saving option, encourage more people to pursue retirement schemes and raise awareness of taking more responsibility for your retirement years.

The desired Working ISA has been greeted with a mixed response, dividing opinions across a number of levels. Favourably for TISA, reports have suggested that the proposal has been growing in support amongst some labour and conservative officials.

What the Saving Scheme would involve

Guidelines for the new retirement plan would involve the ISA commencing at age 18 and would cease with a defined age of 65 for example, or upon reaching the state retirement stage at the time.

When the policy holder has reached the previously defined age, the funds would convert into a standard ISA under the proposed guidelines, which would then allow the individual to select an ‘income in retirement’ option that would most suit them and their future lifestyle.

On top of the working ISA, the pre budget report conducted by TISA is also advocating that the government establish a retirement savings review to consider the effectiveness of current saving and investment schemes as well as pension policy.

Interesting times ahead for the savings and investment market it would seem as the debate for a working ISA and savings strategy continues.