BRITONS are putting retirement saving on hold as they brace themselves for an economic slowdown, research showed today.
One in ten people who are saving into a pension expects either to stop making contributions or to reduce them during the coming year as a result of the worsening economic outlook.
People expect to stop paying into a pension or make lower payments
for an average of 22 months, although 13 per cent thought it would be more than five years before they resumed their current level of contributions, according to the financial services firm Brewin Dolphin.
About 12 per cent of people said they would be reducing the amount they saved into a pension in order to meet increased mortgage repayments, while the same proportion said they would need the extra cash to pay for school fees or their car.
One in ten people said they would need the money to repay debt, while 8 per cent said the cash would be used to meet the cost of having a baby.
Other reasons given for stopping or reducing contributions included to fund a divorce settlement, to pay for a wedding, to save for the deposit on a house and to pay for a holiday.
The research found that women were more likely than men to be planning to put retirement saving on hold, while those aged between 25 and 34 were more likely to do so than other age groups.
Charlotte Black, the director of corporate affairs at Brewin Dolphin, said: "Given tighter credit conditions, it seems likely that pension payment breaks will become increasingly prevalent as the immediate pressures of servicing mortgages and dealing with credit-card debts take their toll."
The full article contains 290 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
