Bank of Ireland survey looks at financial planning and consumers’ attitude to security that shows….

46% said they are prepared to take on some level of risk when it comes to financial planning
Over half of respondents believe more encouragement from employers and more education in schools would be effective in getting young people to take out a pension
66% say will be reliant on state pension for their retirement

When asked about pensions, 66% of respondents to a Bank of Ireland survey said they would be relying on the state pension for their income in retirement. Most people recognised that there are multiple barriers to young people starting pensions – 70% agreed that young people have too many competing priorities for their money, 44% felt they didn’t understand pensions and over 60% agreed it seems too far into the future for young people to start saving for a pension

The research was conducted to mark the launch of Life online, a new online portal that is available exclusively through the Bank’s online banking service, www.365 online.com and is designed to give Bank of Ireland life and pension customers greater control of their financial future. The national survey was conducted among adults aged 25+ among a sample size of 400. Respondents were surveyed in relation to their attitude to financial planning, with one in five saying they are poor savers and one third saying they would like to save but can’t afford it. The majority of respondents said they are not adventurous when it comes to savings and investments – only 28% said they were adventurous and this was higher among males and younger people. 46% of respondents said they were risk takers in terms of financial planning, but similar to the adventurous question, this was higher among males and younger people.

The survey also examined our attitude to personal security which showed:

23% of people surveyed admitted to leaving a spare key outside their home with over half leaving it in a hiding place other than the obvious flower pot, bin, rock or door mat!
When it comes to locking our cars, the survey showed that while nearly 90% of people lock their cars when running into a shop to make a purchase, one in four people don’t lock their cars when paying for petrol/diesel.
90% of respondents believe they are security conscious but only half have a house alarm, and of those, only 57% regularly set the alarm at night.
Just over half of respondents said they had security lights on their properties, and the use of security lights is more prevalent among the over 65s and retired people.

Available to customers through Bank of Ireland 365 online, Life online gives customers visibility of all of their Bank of Ireland investments, pension and protection policies, with comprehensive up to date information on investment performance and insights for the long term investor. Life online also gives customers rich information and tools to help them understand what they have and what it will do for them in the future. The service will also enable customers to stay on top of their investment choices, ensure that their pension plans are on track, and that their life insurance policies will provide the right blend of cover for them.

Speaking about the launch of the Life online, Dermot Murray, Managing Director of Bank of Ireland Life, said “We believe Life online will revolutionise how our customers stay in control and plan for their financial future. Customers will be able to see their full financial dashboard 24/7 and at a click can delve further into their long term financial plans. Staying in control means complete visibility of your plans, understanding what they do for you and knowing what options you have. We’ve designed Life online to help our customers to do just that”.

When asked about pensions, 66% said they would be relying on the state pension for their income in retirement. Most people recognised that there are multiple barriers to young people starting pensions – 70% agreed that young people have too many competing priorities for their money, 44% felt they didn’t understand pensions and over 60% agreed it seems too far into the future for young people to start saving for a pension. In terms of initiatives to encourage young people to take out a pension, over half of respondents believe more encouragement from employers and more education in schools would be the most effective ways to get young people to take out a pension.

In terms of investments held, one in three said they owned property, one in four said they had invested in managed funds, while 20% said they owned stocks or shares. Just over half of those surveyed did not have life assurance and only 25% said they had a critical illness policy. 78% said they closely track their savings, while 66% closely track their investments, with almost 90% saying that they would find online tracking helpful.

Bank of Ireland Life expects to have almost 70,000 customers registered for Life online over the coming weeks.

ENDS