Brits Pick Google over Family to Plan Financial Futures

Britons turn to the popular search engine Google more than any other resource to help them plan their savings for the future..

According a survey from Capita Employee Benefits, which questioned more than 3,000 people, more than a third of respondents (37%) use Google when researching financial products.

This is compared to a third (33%) of people who consult family and friends and more than one in five (22%) turn to the personal finance pages or money-themed TV and radio programmes.

The research, which examined employee's attitudes toward pensions, retirement, auto-enrolment, savings, benefits and occupational health, also revealed that more than half of employees (52%) said they would be more willing to save into pension if they had a better idea of how they worked.

Nearly two thirds of women (61%) compared to just over half of men (52%) say they find pensions communications complicated and confusing and create a barrier to them saving more effectively for retirement.

"The survey is the largest and most wide ranging of its kind into the financial health of the nation and it contains both results that we expect and some that we don't," said Susan Ring, chief executive at Capita Employee Benefits.

"It looks at how good employee benefits can aid recruitment and retention, how auto enrolment has affected the pensions landscape and how thousands of us, across all ages, regions and types of job, view their retirement.

"It also tackles health in the workplace and what employers can do to help reduce stress or get their employees fitter and more productive – physically and mentally."

The study also found that when it comes to how people plan to support themselves in retirement, nearly half of employees (45%) intend on living off their state pension – making it the most popular choice.