Almost half (47%) of UK adults believe that their retirement outcomes are largely influenced by factors outside of their control, according to new research.
A third (29%) of those surveyed for the Standard Life report had done little or no planning for retirement.
Mike Ambery, retirement savings director at Standard Life, said it was not surprising that people do not feel confident about making decisions for their financial future.
He said: “It’s no surprise that many people feel their retirement finances are shaped by factors outside their control. Rising living costs, market volatility and the unexpected twists life can bring can all affect how confident people feel about the future, and people’s ability to prioritise long-term saving.”
A separate report from Scottish Widows today found that 31% of UK workers were facing pension poverty. While this figure has reduced from 39% in 2025, it could be reduced to just 13% by boosting auto-enrolment contributions by increasing the statutory level of saving from 8% to 12%.
Scottish Widows calculates that increasing default contribution rates would have a sizeable impact on the pension pots of those currently saving, especially for young people. Raising total contribution rates from 8% to 12% on the first £30,000 of salary would increase projected retirement savings by £40,000 on average. For those aged 22–29, the impact is far greater, increasing pots to around £114,000 at retirement.
The pension provider claims that among defined contribution members saving below 12%, should the statutory level of contribution through auto-enrolment increase from 8% to 12% across total salaries, it would drastically reduce pension poverty from 32% to 13%. If the increase were applied only to the first £50,000 of salary the average pot would increase by £55,000, with pensioner poverty also being reduced dramatically to 14%.
• Scottish Widows surveyed 6,224 adults to in February. Ipsos surveyed 6,000 participants in an online survey on behalf of Standard Life.