Almost half of the working population have never reviewed their pension plans, research has found.
While the majority of non-retired adults said they did consider it their responsibility to ensure that they understood how their pension fund was invested, 45pc of those surveyed said they had never looked into it.
When asked about the last time they had made a change to their pension and investments in order to better reflect their risk profile, 38pc of respondents said they had never made such a change, while 5pc said they had done so more than 10 years ago.
Among people who had reviewed their pension plans, 41pc were unable to say whether they had selected the “default” option offered by the pension provider. More than a third said they had chosen the default investment option. Of those who selected the default option, 38pc rated the advice and explanation around the default process as either poor or nonexistent.
The survey, conducted for Baring Asset Management, also found that more people were likely to choose friends and family for pensions advice. Twenty-three per cent named this as their most likely source of advice, compared with 15pc last year.
Professionals such as independent financial advisers or accountants remained the most popular source, with 34pc selecting them as the preferred option.
Marino Valensise, Barings’ chief investment officer, said: “Millions of people may be exposed to poor asset allocation and inappropriate levels of risk due to a refusal to review their pension investments regularly and with the correct levels of advice.
“While it’s good that the majority of people see it as their personal responsibility to monitor and understand their pensions, they need to follow this up and make sure they are speaking with their financial advisers. This is more important than ever given the current volatile economic environment.”
Original Article: The Telegraph
6:30AM BST 11 Sep 2012