Biggest pension regret – not starting soon enough

The second biggest regret for people of working age was not making a financial plan, a concern for 14 per cent, while 12 per cent wished they had been more engaged and either joined their workplace pension scheme, or moved out of their default pension fund.

While the biggest pension regret among people who had already retired was putting off saving, poor planning was the second biggest regret, cited by 18 per cent. The third biggest pension regret among retired respondents was how they used their pension pot – a worry for 14 per cent. This included taking tax-free cash when they didn’t need it, taking too much income too soon from their drawdown policy, buying an annuity and failing to buy an inflation linked annuity.

The best pension decision among those still working was joining their workplace pension or saving into a personal pension – cited by 42 per cent. This was followed by saving for retirement from an early age, cited by 19 per cent and paying extra into a workplace pension, seen as a good decision by 18 per cent.

Men were more likely than women to say paying extra into their workplace pension was their best decision. While women were more likely than men to say saving for retirement from an early age was their best decision.

Aegon pensions director Steven Cameron says: “There’s a saying – smart people learn from their mistakes, wise people learn from the mistakes of others. When it comes to saving for retirement, it’s easy to fall into bad habits or make decisions you’ll later regret. But taking personal responsibility and making better financial decisions now will make all the difference to your future.”

Pensions – regrets and best decisions