In a poll of over 200 pension professionals*, over three quarters (79.3%) of those polled felt that the current pension system was unfair on young people while over half (51.2%) felt that the system was unfair on the self-employed. 25% of pension professionals polled believe that the current pension system in the UK is unfair on women while just 12.4% felt that it is unfair on men.
71.3% of those polled meanwhile felt that the UK pension system was fair on those about to retire, while over two-thirds (67.0%) felt that the system was fair on public sector employees.
Less than half of those polled (46.9%) agreed that equality (age, sex, religion, ethnicity etc) was a major concern for the UK Government. However almost three quarters (72.7%) of those polled felt that the UK Government is most responsible for delivering equality in pensions. 14.4% of those polled meanwhile felt that employers were most responsible to deliver equality in pensions.
Commenting on the research Hugh Nolan, President of the SPP, said: “Despite pension reform being a major focus for the Government over recent years, it is clear that the current system in the UK favours certain groups over others. Those fortunate enough to be at or close to retirement, or in public sector jobs, look set to benefit while the young and self-employed are deemed to be getting an unfair deal. If we are going to encourage young people to engage with their pensions and for the next phase of auto-enrolment to be successful the Government will need to redress the balance.”
*Survey details: The SPP survey ran between 7th August and 3rd September and was completed by 209 SPP members.
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