New research from Legal and General Investment Management found people struggle to save, despite believing retirement savings to be important.

The research, released to mark pensions awareness day earlier this month, investigated four so-called 'tribes' of people, who share certain characteristics.

The 'Rebellious Renters' – people trying to save for their own property; 'Tired Parents' – those juggling numerous demands; 'Ladies Losing Out' – women prioritising happiness in later working life; and 'Sandwich Man' – men caught between providing financial support for elderly parents and adult children.

It found that all four groups would be motivated to save more if for every £80 saved, £20 was paid in for free by the government.

A difference between male and female savers was also highlighted by the research.

The difference was especially pronounced for the 'Tired Parents' group, where 42% of male respondents both having a workplace pensions and knowing how much is in it, compared with just 22% for females.

Among 'Rebellious Renters', 30% of men have a workplace pension and know how much is in it, compared to 20% of women; similarly, nearly half (46%) of the 'Sandwich Man' tribe have a workplace pension and know how much is in it, versus just a third (33%) of 'Ladies Losing Out'.

Polling nearly 5,000 consumers, the research also found that each group is more likely to continue to save, or save more, into a private pension than a stocks and shares ISA.

Overall nearly half of respondents said they are likely to save of continue to save into a private pension, compared to a fifth who would consider a stocks and shares ISA.

For those people who are not saving, most are not doing so because they feel they do not have enough money to save.

'Ladies Losing Out' is the tribe most likely not to be saving for retirement - almost half of respondents in this tribe (48%) say they are unlikely to save into a private pension and a third (34%) do not have a workplace pension.

Emma Douglas, head of DC at LGIM, said: "While it is encouraging to see that saving for retirement is important for each of these groups, we now need to motivate people to become more active about doing so.

"As an industry, we also need to do a better job of raising awareness about the benefits of pension tax relief."

First published 22.09.2016

Lindsay.sharman@wilmingtonplc.com