New research from the UK’s largest mutual pension and investment company, Royal London, reveals that three fifths (59%) of pension holders in London are unaware that their pension could be invested in ways to help fight climate change. Only a third (29%) of pension holders from the city currently invest their pension responsibly, but 46% say they would like their pension to be invested more responsibly.
Royal London is the largest mutual life insurance, pensions and investment company in the UK, with assets under management of £153 billion, 8.8 million policies in force and 4,075 employees (figures quoted are as at 30 June 2021).
What does investing responsibly mean?
Terminology can be confusing. Three out of ten (31%) of adults in London are familiar with the term ‘responsible investment,’ whilst a third (33%) per cent actually know what it means and understand its collective power to protect the planet. Men are more likely to be familiar with the term responsible investment than women (69% vs 50%) across the UK.
Almost two fifths (38%) of pension holders in London said they would consider investing a portion of their pension responsibly. Just under a third (27%) were willing for over half their pension to be invested responsibly. With one in ten (12%) wanting between 90% and 100% of their pension invested responsibly.
Pension holders across the UK were also asked what criteria they would like a responsibly invested pension to consider, with climate change and protecting the environment (40%) being highly rated in London. Social factors such as health and safety (29%) and use of plastic (29%) following closely behind.
Sarah Pennells, Consumer Finance Specialist at Royal London, said, “It’s encouraging to see that so many people consider themselves to be climate conscious and our research shows that the nation is taking steps forward to improve the health of the planet. But we all need to look at our finances and their collective power to do well and do good. From helping reduce emissions to promoting diversity, pensions can be invested to support individuals in retirement whilst helping us all move towards a more sustainable world.”
With over half (57%) of UK 18-24-year-olds wanting their pension investments to harness a more sustainable planet, compared to just over a quarter (29%) of 65-year-olds and over, it’s clear there is still more that can be done to build a better understanding of inter-generational financial resilience for the future.
The research also found:
- Almost half (45%) of pension holders in London do not know how their pension funds are invested.
- Those who want to find out more about responsible investment would mostly value the advice of financial advisers (18%), free guidance services, such as MoneyHelper (14%), or their family and friends (12%).
- Almost a fifth (18%) would carry out their own research to find out about responsible investment.
For more information visit: https://www.royallondon.com/.
