Of the 96% of financial advisers that think the state pension will change from its proposed form, two in five (39%) believe it will revert back to means testing; two in five (41%) expect it to become less generous, and move away from the triple lock; and half (49%) believe the government will make further increases to the state pension age beyond those currently planned.
Aegon’s report follows the government’s announcement of a consultation on pensions, exploring options to address excessive charges for early exit penalties and clearer guidelines for financial advice.
Duncan Jarrett, managing director of retail and at retirement for Aegon UK, said that such uncertainty is cause for concern. “The state pension is a financial lifeline for millions of pensioners in the UK, so it's concerning to see such a resounding number of financial advisers foresee more uncertainty on the horizon,” he said.
“People need confidence in what to expect to receive from the state, so we can't afford cliff-edge moves to means testing, or sudden increases to the state pension age.”
Jarrett added that many workers are unclear over how much they need to save: “We need to get better as an industry at highlighting to individuals how much they are due to receive, so they can then work out how much private pension they need to make up the gap between this and their aspirational income in retirement.”
