Pensions remain a 'healthy investment'

Despite rising costs of living and disappointing rates of inflation, pensions are still a worthwhile investment, an expert has said.

Recent research from Prudential showed that pensioners' income would need to double in order for them to maintain their standard of living in the future.

However, Samir El-Alami, founder of pensioncalculator.org, believes that schemes are still worth saving for from a young age.

He said: "By putting money aside earlier on in life you can work towards building up quite a substantial pension pot to use later on in life."

The money could be used to pay for living costs and everyday expenses that people often struggle to make ends meet with the average pension payments, he added.

Still, the Head of Pension Corporation's estimate that pension funds have lost around £250 billion since the mounting Euro debt crisis should not be ignored.

Mr El-Alami concluded: "Although pension funds are very worthwhile investments, there are always risks involved; they can crash, and be subject to huge deficits."

Posted by David Shuker