Consumers trust pensions less than banks

The survey, conducted by consumer group Which? and published in the Financial Times, found that this was lower than trust in day-to-day banking, at 40%, and energy companies at 30%

Gareth Shaw, Which? money expert, said: "We’ve found that trust in longer-term financial products, such as pensions, is worryingly low and that consumers are not getting the information they need to make good retirement income decisions.

"This lack of trust combined with a pension ‘knowledge gap’, leaves consumers disengaged and lacking detailed knowledge about the pension options available to them."

Anthony Morrow, CEO of evestor, added: “The Which? findings support what we have thought for a long time; that unless you have a large sum of money, you are left to make retirement decisions on your own with no guidance or support. It’s no wonder people don’t trust pensions. However, the issue doesn’t sit with the product, it sits with the providers.

“The industry itself acknowledges that the subject is complex and complicated, and therefore claims advice is not feasible for all but the largest customers. This is an appalling state of affairs and just shows a complete lack of interest in customers beyond making money.

“The same industry is queuing up to launch non-advised sales which, based on the Which? report, will only lead to the incumbents retaining the assets regardless of whether it’s the right thing for the customer. We only have to look at the non-advised annuity market, itself subject to an FCA review, to see how provider greed drives bad outcomes for customers.

“Advanced qualifications exist on retirement planning to enable financial advisers to be comfortable in providing recommendations. Are we really saying that those with no experience and smaller pension pots have an equal understanding to specialist professionals?

“It is a serious failure of duty by larger providers, they are abandoning customers with smaller pots leaving them to make their own uninformed decisions. Advice on retirement choices should be mandatory, not a privilege.”