Nest warns of damaging pension jargon

Survey by Nest shows very few people think pensions are straight forward (6 per cent), easy to understand (4 per cent), simple (3 per cent), interesting (5 per cent) or engaging (2 per cent).

Only one in seven respondents (15 per cent) finds the language used to describe pensions straight forward and easy to understand and only one in 14 (7 per cent) thinks information from pension providers is better quality than other types of financial information they have seen.

The words people told Nest they more strongly associate with pensions are confusing, complicated, boring, difficult and off-putting.

The research results, released by Nest alongside a new version of its jargon-busting phrasebook, also shows that more than half (57 per cent) said sometimes pensions seem so complicated they can’t understand the best options available, while one in three people (29 per cent of all respondents and 39 per cent of Nest’s target group) are putting off thinking about saving for retirement because they find pensions confusing.

Tim Jones, chief executive of Nest, said: “Pension jargon could be damaging people’s chances of building a better income in retirement.

“As millions of people are due to start saving for their retirement for the first time through automatic enrolment, Nests research shows that getting the language right is a challenge all pension providers will need to tackle.”