Pension system 'too complex' - Telegraph If we are to avoid millions of people facing poverty in old age, then we need to give them an attractive structure to save into, not simply order them to save. The report, titled Roadmap For Retirement Reform, called for the state retirement age to be raised to 70 more quickly, increasing it in stages to reach 70 in 2044 rather than the Government's plans to raise the age to 68 in 2046. The report said: "We need to stop pretending to people that state or private pension architectures were ever designed to support a potential 30-year 'retirement' from an effective 35-year working life." The report argued that a higher state retirement age would encourage private saving for those wanting to end their working lives earlier. It called for the Government to develop a formal savings policy, saying that society has moved more towards a "debt culture" over the last 40 years. The recommendations come before a landmark government initiative to tackle the pension savings crisis, beginning this autumn. Between nine and 10 million people will be automatically enrolled into schemes, something the Government hopes will lead to a greater savings culture. But the report warned: "There is a mounting body of evidence that the thing we currently call a 'pension' looks like part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. This is unfortunate at a time when we are about to herd millions of savers into pensions, many for the first time. It said the current pension system "has become comparable to a game of giant Jenga, where movement of one component causes unexpected movement in another, or results in total or partial collapse." The trend towards Isa saving appears set to continue or even accelerate, with payments into Isas jumping by almost £10bn to a total of £53.8bn in 2010/11, the report said. Consumers had been using products such as stocks and shares Isas to boost their retirement saving, a purpose for which they were not expressly designed. Official figures recently showed that the proportion of people in a workplace pension has fallen below half for the first time in at least 15 years. Some 48pc of employees are in a scheme, compared with 55pc when the records began in 1997, the Office for National Statistics said. The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has warned that the squeeze on household incomes and stock market volatility have put people off saving into a pension. A recent NAPF study found that more than half of workers (54pc) were not confident in pensions compared with other ways of saving. According to government estimates, between two and four million people will opt out of auto-enrolment, leaving five to eight million newly saving or saving more. A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said: "We can't go on paying the state pension at an age set early in the last century, which is why we've already increased the state pension age and are looking at how it can be linked to longevity. We are moving ahead with our plans for a single, simple rate of state pension and are making sure people have a pension of their own. It is vital that we help people save, which is why, starting in the autumn, automatic enrolment will mean millions of people saving into a pension for the first time, with a contribution from their employer and tax relief - a huge boost to those who are currently missing out. Otto Thoresen, director general of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), said that Isas have a role to play in encouraging long-term savings and their ease of access is particularly attractive in "economically uncertain" times. He continued: "However, Isas do not have the employer contributions and tax benefits that pensions offer and their charges tend to be higher than modern workplace pensions. Savings policy should be thought about in the round, but as the report acknowledges, the primary challenge now is to deliver automatic enrolment, which will bring millions more people into pension savings. Ros Altmann, director general of Saga said: "There's seems to be a crisis of confidence in our pension system. People are no longer willing to just put their hard-earned money into a 'locked box' where that money is taken away from them and they cannot access it for potentially a very long time. If government wants to ensure people save for later life, auto-enrolment needs to focus on encouraging long-term savings in general, rather than just pensions in particular.