Eight out of 10 younger workers want to see pension saving starting from an earlier age.
A total of 82 per cent of workers aged between 18 and 22 think that retirement savings should start before the current default age of 22, according to new research from the Pensions Management Institute (PMI).
The survey found that 61 per cent of this cohort also though that all of their salary should be included when calculating pension contributions, rather than just that part above the lower threshold (currently £6,240 pa).
In addition 59 per cent though that the current statutory minimum contribution rates of 8 per cent are too low, and stated a preference for a 12 per cent contribution rate.
Planned reforms of AE are set to introduce this higher contribution rate, and lower enrolment age, but to date there has been no formal implementation date for these changes, which are due to be introduced this decade.
However the PMI said its research also highlights how the rising cost of living is affecting younger people’s ability to make pension savings, with almost half of all respondents (49 per cent) citing either existing rent or mortgage commitments, or saving for a deposit, as presenting serious obstacles to long-term pension saving.
PMI president Lesley Alexander says: “The results of this research should kill off the lazy assumption that young people do not give serious consideration to preparing for their retirement.
“It is emphatically clear that young people would be prepared to make a greater commitment to pension saving were they encouraged to do so. At the same time, however, we should not make light of the serious obstacles that millennials and zoomers face in bearing the financial cost of saving for retirement. There is much that Government could do to ensure that young people are sufficiently incentivised.
“This research shows that the scheduled reforms to auto enrolment should now be introduced as a matter of some urgency.