Thousands in Plymouth unaware of the power of their pensions

New research from the UK’s largest mutual pension and investment company, Royal London, reveals that seven in ten (69%) pension holders in Plymouth are unaware that their pension could be invested in ways to help fight climate change. Only one in ten (10%) pension holders from the city currently invest their pension responsibly, but 34% say they would like their pension to be invested more responsibly.

What does investing responsibly mean?

Almost a third (30%) of adults in Plymouth are familiar with the term ‘responsible investment’, whereas 32 per cent know what it means and understand its collective power to protect the planet. Men are more likely to be familiar with the term responsible investment than women (69% vs 50%) across the UK.

The power of pensions

Over a quarter (28%) of pension holders in Plymouth said they would consider investing a portion of their pension responsibly. Over a fifth (23%) were willing for over half their pension to be invested responsibly. With a further fifth (19%) wanting between 90% and 100% of their pension invested responsibly.

Pension holders across the UK were also asked what criteria they would like a responsibly invested pension to consider, with climate change and protecting the environment (40%) being highly rated with Portsmouth pension holders. Social factors such as health and safety (34%) and business ethics (30%) following behind.

Sarah Pennells, Consumer Finance Specialist at Royal London, said: “It’s encouraging to see that so many people consider themselves to be climate conscious and our research shows that the nation is taking steps forward to improve the health of the planet. But we all need to look at our finances and their collective power to do well and do good. From helping reduce emissions to promoting diversity, pensions can be invested to support individuals in retirement whilst helping us all move towards a more sustainable world.” 

With over half (57%) of UK 18-24-year-olds wanting their pension investments to harness a more sustainable planet, compared to just over a quarter (29%) of 65-year-olds and over, it’s clear there is still more that can be done to build a better understanding of inter-generational financial resilience for the future.

Finding out how to invest more responsibly

The research also found:

• Three fifths (58%) of pension holders from Plymouth do not know how their pension funds are invested.
• Those who want to find out more about responsible investment would mostly value the advice of financial advisers (19%), their family and friends (14%), or free guidance services, such as MoneyHelper (7%).
• Over a third (35%) would carry out their own research to find out about responsible investment.

Royal London’s Invested Generation campaign recently launched a Facebook community https://www.facebook.com/groups/theinvestedgeneration/ which provides a range of support and resources for UK pension holders as to how they can best invest responsibly. In addition, more information is also available on the Royal London website: https://www.royallondon.com/.