Young 'struggle' with pension terms.

A new poll suggests that the number of young Britons who understand a foreign language is higher than those who know the meaning of pension terms.

The study by ICM for the Young Money report by MRM found that almost a quarter (23.3%) of 20 to 29 year-olds understand some simple French, German or Spanish phrases.

One in three (33%) said they can understand the French for 'How old are you?', a fifth (20%) said they recognise the German for 'What is your name?', and a sixth (17%) said they understand 'How are you?' in Spanish.

However, only around one in ten (9.7%) of those polled said they understand basic pensions terms.

Only one in ten people (11%) said they know what the terms 'annuity' or 'final salary pension' mean, and only one in 14 young Britons (7%) understand what is meant by auto-enrolment.

MRM director Michael Taggart said: "You might say that pensions are like a foreign language to young British adults."

Copyright Press Association 2012