ISLANDERS will face a sharp decline in their standard of living unless they put more money away for retirement. A new UK study suggests that more than half the population are not saving enough to get a good retirement pension.

The study has been backed by local expert Jeff Barnett, managing director of Gower Financial Services.

He said the results supported his company’s local findings.

‘You have to say it’s disappointing, given all the coverage pensions have had in recent years.

‘With Guernsey being generally more affluent, and with the more flexible pension options that are available to islanders, one would hope the picture was somewhat different here. However, the truth is the survey just bears out what we are seeing.’

The UK study by insurer Scottish Widows also found that women, parents with young children and the self-employed were the most likely to be making too small a provision for retirement.

‘A lot of people are not making adequate provision and while they may not exactly end up in poverty, they may have to face up to a considerable drop in their living standards when they come to retire,’ said Mr Barnett.

The study found that only 49% of people were making adequate provision and nearly a quarter were saving nothing at all.

Only one in four of those surveyed who did not have a final salary pension scheme from their employer was saving enough.

‘Given that final salary schemes are becoming far less common, that is quite a worrying statistic,’ added Mr Barnett.

‘Clearly more people need to get the message that if you want to look forward to a comfortable retirement, you need to plan for it, and the sooner the better.’