"Above all else, not having sufficient retirement funds and not being able to afford to retire are of major concern to a high proportion of adults."

Extract from this report

Despite the importance of retirement planning, over 37% of pre-retirees in the UK have neither a personal nor an occupational pension scheme and many of these will have to rely on the state pension for their income. Ownership levels have increased and with the state pension set to fall in real terms, there are even greater opportunities for new marketing to UK consumers. Allowing tax relief at the highest rate of income tax, personal pensions are one of the most tax-efficient vehicles for retirement saving, and certainly the most widely accepted. The Government estimates that some five million adults in the UK are earning too little to make regular contributions to a personal pension, motivating the release of the new low-cost stakeholder pension, which could grow to become a compulsive purchase for these consumers. Can providers clearly communicate these benefits to potential customers? What are the central competitors to pension schemes? Many consumers in the UK are increasingly well-informed about financial services, both through IFAs and their own research. With the adverse publicity of the recent £11 billion recent mis-selling scandal and the Financial Services Authority advising people to review their pension schemes, it is of key importance for financial services companies to maintain their brand.

· There are still nearly 40% of pre-retirees without their own personal or occupational scheme.

· With state pension income set to fall in real terms, there are clear opportunities for new marketing to UK consumers.

· How much impact is the new low-cost stakeholder pension likely to have on the market?

Pensions are one of the most important financial products arranged by coonsumers. With significant opportunities for market growth and in the light of the stakeholder launch, this report fully analyses the personal pension market in the UK, including market size and distribution channels, as well as assessing consumers' alternative product holding. For many, a pension will be the primary, if not the only, source of income during retirement but how concerned are UK consumers about receiving bad advice? Personal Pensions focuses on the present and future trends in the personal pensions market and, perhaps more importantly, determines both consumer attitudes and ownership levels. How concerned are existing pensions customers, though? This report also asks those with current schemes whether they are satisfied with the performance of their pensions funds.

Other Mintel reports of relevance include:

- Special Report, The Internet and Financial Services, February 2000

- Long Term Care, Finance Intelligence, January 2000

- Life Protection, Finance Intelligence, December 1999

- AVCs and FSAVCs, Finance Intelligence, November 1999

- Post-Family Pensions, Finance Intelligence, September 1999

- Family Pensions, Finance Intelligence, August 1999

- Pre-Family Pensions, Finance Intelligence, June 1999

- Retirement Provision, Finance Intelligence, April 1999

and the forthcoming:

- Premium Pensions, Finance Intelligence, April 2000

- Pensions for the Masses, Finance Intelligence, June 2000

- Pensions: The Grey Market, Finance Intelligence, July 2000

- Private/Occupational Balance in Pension Provision, Finance Intelligence, September 2000

- New Technology and Financial Services, Finance Intelligence, December 2000.