David Still, managing director, retirement income, at Friends Life, said the lack of trust in professional advisers, shown in a survey by the company, suggests more needs to be done to educate people.
Respondents cited retirement income and pension savings as the top two financial planning concerns for 2014.
Just over a quarter (27%) reported feeling less confident about their personal finances than last year.
Those that are least confident about their personal finances than a year ago are less likely to trust counsel from financial advisers (25%) and more likely to rely on family or friends (32%).
Mr Still said: "Pledging to save more but then failing to seek best advice on how to do this will undermine your efforts and affect your ability to pursue your real passions later on in life.
"That so many lack understanding of financial terms such as annuity, and that so few trust professional counsel, suggests the industry must set itself a New Year's resolution to better explain the value of pensions to the public."
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Nearly a third were more confident about their finances this year compared to 2012.
Researchers discovered that those who are more confident about their finances are more likely to focus on their pension savings (37%) than those who are less confident (28%).
Overall, retirement income was the top concern with 32% and pension savings was second with 29%, ahead of other financial planning concerns such as credit card bills at 23%.
Three quarters of respondents believe financial planning will be important to them next year.
Mr Still added: "We all want to enjoy a fulfilling retirement and taking responsibility and planning early can help you achieve this."