Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is more trusted to secure a decent retirement for the nation's pensioners than the person currently in charge of pension policy, prime minister Theresa May.
Research commissioned by The Pensions Management Institute has found the majority of people do not trust any politician to safeguard their retirement.
But Labour leader Mr Corbyn was the most trusted, with 26 per cent of people choosing him.
The research from Populus showed prime minister Theresa May was considered the next most trusted leader with 21 per cent.
But 41 per cent of respondents didn’t trust any politician to secure their retirement through political reform.
As with other polling, confidence in Mr Corbyn was greatest among 18 to 24-year-olds, with 48 per cent saying they trusted him the most, while Mrs May was more trusted by the elderly, with 33 per cent of over-65s giving her the most credibility.
Robert Branagh, president of the Pensions Management Institute, said: “Despite all of the political commentary coming out of the party conferences, it is clear that our political leaders still have some work to do to simplify pensions further and help people understand and engage with their long term retirement provision better.
“As we approach the phasing stages of auto-enrolment, there is clearly still work to be done to educate and inform people what is happening.
“There is a real danger that Brexit and other major issues facing our political leaders, will result in pensions taking too much of a back seat on the political agenda and with their eye off the ball, all of the good work done to date establishing a new savings culture under this system could be undone.”
The lack of confidence in the political establishment has been echoed by a separate survey of more than 250 PMI members which showed the majority of pension professionals did not think that either David Gauke, the secretary of state for work and pensions, or Guy Opperman, the pensions minister, will remain in post until the end of this parliament.
A large majority of pension professionals – 64 per cent – think workplace pensions are a medium to low priority for the UK government.
People are now divided about whether the 2015 pension reforms were a good thing, with 29 per cent saying they were good, 31 per cent thinking they were bad, and 21 per cent having no opinion.
The thinking among pension professionals is in line with this, with 43 per cent saying the reforms had gone too far in allowing members too many cash options for DC pension schemes.
The Populus poll and PMI survey were both conducted in September, the former with a sample of 2,000 people and the latter with a sample of 257 PMI members.
damian.fantato@ft.com
