Less than a third of people believe a pension plan is the best way to save for retirement.

According to a survey of over 2,000 people carried out by YouGov for the Institute of Financial Planning, only 29 per cent of people are confident a pension is the best way to build up retirement funds.

The findings are from a poll conducted for Financial Planning Week 2011 which runs all this week.

The results differed between genders with 36 per cent of men confident pensions were a good idea compared to only 23 per cent of women.

Worryingly, only 29 per cent of people aged 55+ were confident about pensions being the best way to save, despite being the category nearest to retirement.

Alan Dick CFP^CM of Forty Two Wealth Management said: “It is worrying that over two thirds of the population appear to have completely disengaged with pensions. Governments’ constant tinkering with pension legislation and the perceived complexity undoubtedly contributes to this distrust.

“I would hope that people are not taking an ‘ostrich’ approach to Financial Planning by burying their heads in the sand but instead are making genuine alternatives arrangements in saving for retirement using other investment vehicles.”

Martin Palmer, head of corporate benefits marketing at Friends Life, a sponsor of Financial Planning Week, said: “Financial education though the workplace will help and many employers are looking at this as a way to improve the appreciation of the benefits they offer, but we still have a way to go to convince people that saving now for a financially secure retirement is worth doing.”