A managing director at Schroders says the younger generation’s lack of interest in and knowledge of pensions is ‘very worrying’.

Robin Stoakley, managing director of UK Intermediary, fears 18-35 year-olds are paying insufficient attention to their future, based on a survey his firm has just carried out.

Some 44% of investors said they were concerned about whether they would have enough money in retirement.

Lack of interest was one of the main issues, with almost a quarter (24%) saying they would prefer to spend their money on something else.

This mainly applied to 18-35 year olds, sometimes referred to as the millennial age group, as 14% said they didn’t have a pension and 35% suggested they would prefer to spend their money on something else.

Another issue was lack of knowledge, with 39% suggesting they didn’t know how much they should be saving each month in order to have a sufficient pension.

Mr Stoakley said: “We are concerned that the results indicate a general lack of engagement for pension planning. This is very worrying given the clear message coming through that future generations of pensioners will have to provide for themselves.

“We are particularly concerned for the millennials, as they will not benefit from the intergenerational transfer of wealth to the same degree as previous generations thanks to longer life expectancy of their parents and grand-parents. The pensions landscape has seen significant changes over the last three years and the need for financial advice and financial education is greater than it has ever been.

“As an industry, we need to do more to make it easier for investors to understand the importance of saving for the long term and investors themselves need to take responsibility for their financial future.”