London workers are the most ‘pension-confident’ in UK

London workers are the most confident in the UK about their pension savings, with more than six in 10 believing their pot will be enough for retirement, according to research from workplace pension provider Penfold.

Penfold’s UK Pension Map found that 61.6% of London workers were confident that their pension savings will be sufficient for retirement, compared with just 36.9% in Sheffield, one of the lowest city scores in the country.

Liverpool (57%) and Manchester (56.2%) also ranked among the most confident cities but Glasgow (37.3%) rubs shoulders with Sheffield at the bottom of the table.

In Glasgow and Sheffield there are more workers saying they lack confidence in their pension savings than those who say they have confidence.

Nationally, just over half of UK workers (53%) feel confident about whether their pension savings will be enough for retirement, while 42% do not have confidence. 

Researchers also found that fewer than one in five workers (17%) describe themselves as very confident about their retirement, while more than a quarter (26%) say thinking about their pension leaves them feeling "anxious or confused."

UK City Confidence Rankings

Source: Penfold UK Pension Map

Chris Eastwood, CEO and co-founder of Penfold, said: “It’s striking to see such a difference in pension confidence between workers in different parts of the UK. Auto-enrolment has got millions of people saving, but being enrolled does not necessarily mean people understand whether they’re on track for the retirement they want.

"The confidence gap between cities like London and Sheffield isn't just a pension problem. The challenge for the industry is to make pensions easier to understand wherever people live.”

 •  The UK Pension Map is Penfold’s ongoing study of pension confidence across the UK and is based on a survey of 2,000 UK employees.