The film, which has been unveiled by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), is intended to target the millions of UK workers who either have no pension savings or need to increase their contributions.

Commenting on the film, Joanne Segars, NAPF chief executive, said: "The Long Weekend provides a fun and fresh way for employers and trustees to explain the value of workplace saving to their employees.

"Our new film will help people catch the savings bug so that they have a better chance of a secure and enjoyable retirement."

This could also lead a number of people to seek additional ways of funding their retirement such as equity release plans, which allow homeowners to access the capital value of their property.

The film, which has been unveiled by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), is intended to target the millions of UK workers who either have no pension savings or need to increase their contributions.

This apparent apathy could be attributed to the growing number of pension schemes that have joined the Pension Protection Fund in order to protect trustees’ money.

In turn, this could lead a number of people to seek additional ways of funding their retirement such as equity release plans, which allow homeowners to access the capital value of their property.

Commenting on the film, Joanne Segars, NAPF chief executive, said: "The Long Weekend provides a fun and fresh way for employers and trustees to explain the value of workplace saving to their employees.

"Our new film will help people catch the savings bug so that they have a better chance of a secure and enjoyable retirement."

Ahead of the forthcoming election, the PPI has published a discussion paper, which said any changes to the public sector pension market should be used to create a fairer and more transparent pension regime.

Niki Cleal, director of the PPI, said: "While there have been many proposals made for reforming public sector pension schemes, it is not always clear what policy objectives such reform proposals are attempting to address.

"The government’s aims in providing public sector pension schemes are to provide adequate pensions for public sector workers and to help recruit and retain high quality staff. But these aims have to be balanced with affordability for the taxpayer, and other broader objectives such as fairness and transparency."

Concerns around uncertainty within the public sector pension market could lead a number of trustees to seek information on schemes such as equity release.

These policies allow homeowners to access some of the cash they have tied up in their property assets.

Figures from a recently-published survey from the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) have revealed that just 34 per cent of respondents feel confident that their pension income will be enough.

The report also revealed that being financially secure is the moat important factor in ensuring a happy retirement.

According to the NAPF, 71 per cent of Britons said financial security is most important, while 69 per cent said good health was the key.

By way of comparison just 45 per cent said spending time with friends and family was the most important factor.

Joanne Segars, NAPF chief executive, said: "In the retirement happiness stakes, wealth edges ahead of health because it lays the foundation for future life after work.

"The challenge for the next decade is closing the gap between what people want in retirement and how confident they are in getting it, even more so for women."

A lack of confidence in pension products could lead to a rise in the popularity of policies which enable pensioners to access the value of their investments.

Those who have invested in a property could realise the value of their home and receive a welcome financial boost through an equity release scheme.

Asset Pooling Made Easy has been published in order to provide an "easy to understand" guide for schemes looking to "diversify" their investments.

NAPF director of policy, Nigel Peaple, said: "Today’s investment universe is vast and complex and asset pooling represents a possible way forward for some schemes so our Made Simple guide will shine a light into this growing area.

"Our Made Simple Guides form an important part of the NAPF’s work. They seek to ensure that trustees are kept up-to-date with best practice in a simple and straightforward manner."

The "vast and complex" nature of the pensions market may encourage a number of trustees to seek out a simpler method of financing their retirement to boost their pension income.

A scheme such as equity release could provide a homeowner with a simple and effective way of receiving a cash injection by releasing some of the value tied up in their property assets.

Asset Pooling Made Easy has been published in order to provide an "easy to understand" guide for schemes looking to "diversify" their investments.

NAPF director of policy, Nigel Peaple, said: "Today’s investment universe is vast and complex and asset pooling represents a possible way forward for some schemes so our Made Simple guide will shine a light into this growing area.

"Our Made Simple Guides form an important part of the NAPF’s work. They seek to ensure that trustees are kept up-to-date with best practice in a simple and straightforward manner."

The "vast and complex" nature of the pensions market may encourage a number of trustees to seek out a simpler method of financing their retirement to boost their pension income.

A scheme such as equity release could provide a homeowner with a simple and effective way of receiving a cash injection by releasing some of the value tied up in tier property assets.

Pensioners cashing in on the value of their homes owe an average of £8,967 in credit card debts, new research* from leading independent equity release adviser Key Retirement Solutions shows.

Its analysis shows one in five over-65 homeowners taking out equity release owe money on plastic with average debts increasing for the over-70s. Customers aged 65-69 owe an average £8,881 while the over-70s are £9,048 in debt.

Key Retirement Solutions, which analysed applications from 3,501 customers in 2009, warns that credit card debt is taking a substantial bite out of pensioner incomes with many over-65s unlikely to ever be able to clear their plastic.

The analysis comes as the Government announced plans, which come into effect in February 2011, to force card firms to clear debts at higher rates of interest first as well as banning rate rises and credit increases for people in financial difficulty and giving customers 60 days to reject rate rises.

Key Retirement’s analysis shows that pensioners making the monthly minimum repayment on a balance of £8,967 at an average 18.8% rate would pay £141 out of average gross pensioner incomes of £16,000.

That equates to 10% of monthly income before tax – but someone only paying the minimum would take 30 years and one month to clear the debt without spending any more on the card.

Bank of England*** figures show credit card lenders wrote off £4.1 billion of credit card debt in 2009 as borrowers defaulted.

Dean Mirfin, Business Development Director at Key Retirement Solutions, said: “Debt is a way of life for a substantial number of people and the over-65s are not immune. Many are perfectly comfortable with owing money on their credit cards and it can be a sensible way of planning for major purchases.

“However the over-65s are more at risk as once they retire they may no longer have the income to service the debt and in many cases to ever clear their credit card balance.

“Many of them do though have substantial wealth tied up in their homes which represents a potential source of income particularly when other sources of retirement income are under pressure from low interest rates and annuity rates.”

Key Retirement Solutions’ Pensioner Property Equity Index shows the over-65s have property wealth of around £765.18 billion after paying off mortgages and gaining from increases in house prices.

Research among its customers shows the average monthly payment on credit card debt is £238. Someone paying that amount would clear their debt within four years and seven months assuming they don’t continue to spend.

Around 48% of the customers it spoke to were aged 65-69 while 52% were aged 70-plus.

For anyone looking to release equity from their home to help ease the financial burden in retirement, key’s independent guide to equity release is the best place to start. This can be obtained by calling 0800 531 6010 or visiting our website https://www.keyrs.co.uk/free-guide where the guide can be downloaded.

Notes to Editors
* Key Retirement Solutions own database of 3,501 customers applying for equity release products in 2009

** http://www.nao.org.uk/whats_new/0809/0809961.aspx

*** http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8543083.stm

Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Phil Anderson/Kevan Reilly/Paul Griffin
0207 282 1031/1096/1041

About Key Retirement Solutions
Founded in 1998 Key Retirement Solutions is the leading independent adviser specialising in equity release. Key Retirement Solutions is a limited company registered in England No 2457440 with its Head Office at Key Retirement Solutions, Harbour House, Portway, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 2PR.Key Retirement Solutions is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

This is the view from the Liberal Democrat party following research into the subject which revealed 66 per cent of the UK’s pensioners will face difficulties in meeting the payments.

Commenting on the research, SHIP, the equity release trade body, said the problem could be met by the £907 billion that is currently tied up in the homes of the over-65 population.

Andrea Rozario, the organisation’s director general, said: "Equity release could not only help to fund private insurance schemes as proposed by the Conservatives, but could also provide a wider choice of care options all-round.

"Communication and co-operation between consumers, intermediaries and providers is of paramount importance for people to fully understand the benefits of equity release. We hope that all parties will take this opportunity to work with the private sector to develop workable solutions to the very real care funding crisis the country faces."

Consumer advice service uSwitch.com said the recent cold snap, coupled with average price increases of 16 per cent, has resulted in 5.5 million customers owing money to their suppliers.

According to uSwitch, the total outstanding amount is in the region of £728 million.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at the organisation, said: "The impact of the 42 per cent or £381 hike in energy prices in 2008 cannot be underestimated – consumers are still feeling the pain and subsequent price cuts have done little to ease this.

"The increase in energy debt this year is symptomatic of the fact that we are entering an era of high cost energy. Households will have to adapt if they are to protect themselves from spiralling energy bills."

Energy supplier debt could be a particular concern for the country’s elderly population as they tend to dedicate a larger proportion of their income to heating their homes.

Those who have invested in property could use cash from the value of their assets to meet the rising demand through a scheme such as equity release.

The organisation has revealed that it is to discuss "better methods" for valuing pensions and ensuring the survival of DB schemes at the event.

Lindsay Tomlinson, chairman of the NAPF, said: "Current accounting standards have been very damaging to defined benefit provision, leading many companies to close their schemes.

"Pension funds are long term institutions but today’s accounting standards fail to reflect this. The NAPF wants to find a better approach to pension accounting that balances transparency with a less volatile assessment of assets against long-term liabilities."

Concerns about accounting standards in the DB pension market could lead a number of trustees to take out a scheme such as equity release to ensure a comfortable retirement.

Such schemes allow homeowners to access some of the value of their property assets.