The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has announced a major review of the current private sector pensions system in the UK, to be carried out by Lord John McFall, the former chairman of the Treasury Committee. NAPF were prompted into commissioning the report due to a recent poll that revealed 55 per cent of workers think that they hold insufficient retirement savings .

The review, entitled the Workplace Retirement Income Commission, and due to be completed by this October, will examine the problems faced by many young people who are facing a “long retirement spent in poverty,” and a lot of occupational pension schemes now providing less retirement income, according McFall.

A recent poll found that 79 per cent of respondents wanted a simpler pensions system, and also showed that keeping pension payments up-to-date is no longer a priority for many due to the economic climate, with 43 per cent of respondents claiming they could not afford to save for retirement. This is particularly true for young employed people, who already have major issues with debt .

The pensions landscape will also be affected by the introduction of automatic enrolment for workers into a pension scheme in 2012, apart from those that opt out or are on too low a wage.

Lord McFall commented “Half the workforce in on a collision course with a long retirement spent in poverty.” He added that it was “unacceptable that so many will head into old age worried about how they’re going to get by.”

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