Misunderstanding over pension benefits is spurring a rush to property, an ex-Pensions Minister has suggested.

Employers’ contributions into pensions are often “invisible” to workers, Steve Webb said, as new figures indicated property is becoming savers’ preferred mode of retirement planning. He believes many employees do not understand how much their employers contribute to their pensions and how valuable the contributions are so they are, in effect, almost “invisible.” Because of this employees do not value them sufficiently and are confused about their worth.

The ONS wealth & assets survey was published today, showing a growing proportion of the population who believe that saving for retirement through property ‘makes the best use of money’, compared with a falling proportion who went for employer-supported pensions.

Of those interviewed between 2010 and 2012, 40% chose property. This has risen to 49% for 2016 to 2017. In contrast, 24% of those interviewed between 2010 and 2012 opted for employer pensions falling to 22% for those interviewed most recently.

Mr Webb, director of policy at Royal London, said: “It is understandable that the public might imagine that property was the best way to save for retirement. Physical property is much more tangible than a pension, and pensions all too often attract negative headlines.

“The problem is that the employer contribution is often ‘invisible’ to workers. The pensions world and employers need to do much more to communicate the value of the money that firms put in to workers’ pensions.”

Meanwhile, 21% of British adults who are not already retired plan to sell their home, downsize and live off the profits as part – or all – of their retirement plan, according to new survey results out today from pensions consultants LCP and research analysts YouGov.

Alex Waite, partner at LCP, said: “It’s fairly common to see a strategy of ‘my house is my pension’, particularly amongst the relatively young. One-fifth of working adults indicate an intention to use their home as a pension, but this figure drops significantly as people grow older. Inter-generational differences in viewpoint may be at play, but the results suggest that financial planning fails to take into account the strength of attachment people will have to their hard-earnt home as they get older.”

Today’s ONS report found for the period July 2016 to June 2017, 54% of men aged under 65 and women under 60 not already retired reported being fairly or very confident that their retired income would give them the standard of living they hope for, up from 51% in July 2014 to June 2016.

Paul Osborn, chief executive for Foresters Friendly Society, said: “Despite savers’ confidence in their retirement prospects rising, there is a very real danger retirement income will still fall short particularly now we’re all living longer. Sadly the importance of saving for retirement is often overlooked as we concentrate on plugging short-term saving gaps at the expense of our long term financial well-being.”

Peter Bradshaw, national account director, Pension Monster, said: “It is encouraging to see a growing number of adults taking control of their finances and spending habits so they can plan effectively for their retirement. But, while savers’ confidence in their expected retirement income has lifted, many will still find maintaining their lifestyle a challenge.”