More than six in 10 workers under the age of 40 plan to invest in a Lifetime Isa, research by Hymans Robertson has revealed.
In a survey of 1,000 people, the pensions consultancy found 61 per cent of respondents would open the new hybrid savings product.
Of that 61 per cent, more than two thirds (68 per cent) would continue to contribute to a pension.
Due to be launched on Thursday (6 April) the Lifetime Isa, or Lisa, will allow people under the age of 40 to start saving up to £4,000, plus a 25 per cent government, towards either a first home or their retirement.
Three providers - The Share Centre, Nutmeg, and Hargreaves Lansdown - have confirmed they will launch Lisas on that day, with a number of others planning launches later in the year.
The major life companies, however, have held back, fearing that the new product will undermine pensions, a core part of their business.
Former pensions ministers Steve Webb and Ros Altmann have also raised concerns the Lifetime Isa would encourage people to opt out of auto-enrolment.
But Hymans Robertson's research suggested these fears were overblown.
Paul Waters, partner at Hymans Robertson, said the research showed "real appetite" for Lisa, but that people still recognised the benefits of pensions.
"Over two thirds said they’d save into both a Lisa and a pension at the same time. This is good news as we need to move away from looking at pensions and LISAs as competing products. One should not be at the expense of the other," he said.
He said of those who would contribute to both, 49 per cent would save more to a pension and 19 per cent would save more to a Lisa.
Mr Waters argued that, for savers thinking of using the Lisa as a retirement savings vehicle, in most cases they would be better off with a pension.
"Pensions come with strong incentives to save, in the form of upfront tax relief and employer matching contributions for many in the workplace. For higher rate tax payers the tax relief is better than that available in a Lisa.
"But for any young, very high earners who have reached pension annual or lifetime allowance limits a Lisa is a good option.," he said.
Karen Brolly, head of life and financial services products at Hymans Robertson, said it was surprising that more providers had not got a Lisa ready for the launch date.
“For a while, only Hargreaves Lansdown was set to offer a product at launch, but we’ve seen a number of other providers enter the market including Skipton Building Society, Scottish Friendly, The Share Centre, One Family and Nutmeg," she said.
"There is also good reason to expect that those insurers offering products early will be in a good position to become market leaders, as Lisa money will probably prove to be ‘sticky’. In fact, we’re surprised more providers aren’t in the market, but we may see more enter over the coming months."
Alan Chan, a financial planner and director of London-based IFS Wealth & Pensions, said he was not surprised that so many people under 40 planned to open a Lisa.
However, he had concerns about the fact that only two thirds planned to continue contributing to a pension.
"It shows that a third of people view it as a replacement to a pension, which it is not," he said.
He urged the government address this danger, stressing that as a retirement product, "pensions win hands down".
Mr Chan added that he currently had no plans to advise his clients to use Lifetime Isas when the regime is launched.
james.fernyhough@ft.com
