UK – The trend for savings in the UK has fallen to the lowest level in the EU and signs are that the government’s stakeholder pension scheme is unlikely to prompt any reversal in the trend, according to a survey from market intelligence analysts Key Note.

The survey reports that whilst other Europeans save up to a quarter of their earnings – or £25 in every £100 – in the UK the average saver only manages just £4 in every £100.

And the survey indicates that there is a reluctance to trust personal pensions as a possible saving route.
Only two per cent of respondents say they intend to have a stakeholder pension, which are aimed at people on low incomes and the unemployed.

The report notes: “Only one individual in a hundred on low incomes intends to start a stakeholder pension. This is a very disappointing figure for the government, so close to the launch date in April 2001.”