After the first week of the new Premier League season, new research from Friends Life shows that more people would find it easier to explain the offside rule than they would a pension.
While one in five said they would find it easiest to explain the notoriously mis-understood football rule, just one in 20 felt most confident describing a pension.
And the worrying trend does not end there. Only one in 10 thought they could most easily explain life insurance - one of the simplest and most common forms of protection insurance.
Understanding of the term ‘annuity’ is particularly low despite it making headlines this year when the Chancellor announced people would be able to access their pension pot without buying one. In fact, more people felt it would be easier to explain the existence of ghosts!
Colin Williams, Managing Director of Corporate Benefit at Friends Life, said: “This just goes to show just how important it is that consumers have at least some understanding of their finances. The offside rule is notoriously tricky to describe, so to hear that more people would find it easier to explain than a pension or life insurance is a concern.”
Income drawdown – the way many people will soon be able to access their pension savings – came out even worse in the poll. More people thought it would be easier to explain the ‘big bang’ and particle physics.
Income protection (IP) did not fare much better despite Which? describing it as “the one protection policy every working adult in the UK should consider...” The poll showed that more people felt it would be easier to explain the human digestive system or how rainbows are formed compared to IP.
“Pensions, annuities, income protection....these are terms that more people need to be aware of because they’re important financial products” said Colin Williams from Friends Life. “Getting more people able to explain income drawdown over the offside rule might be a little ambitious, but as the world of retirement is changing we need to make sure people’s understanding increases as well.”
Survey of 2000 UK adults carried out by One Poll on behalf of Friends Life
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