The Pensions Commission has published its interim report on the state of retirement saving in the UK, setting out the key challenges facing the current system and where it will focus its work next.

The report identifies that unpaid carer face "heightened risks of undersaving for retirement" as providing care often "reduces or interrupts paid employment, limits opportunities for progression, and restricts access to workplace pensions."

Helen Walker, Chief Executive of Carers UK, said:

“Unpaid carers who spend years looking after others often pay the price in their own retirement. We therefore welcome the Pension Commission’s recognition of the real challenges they face in saving for a secure and adequate retirement income.

“The interruptions to paid employment and lower incomes experienced by many carers significantly reduce pension savings, leading to financial hardship and poverty for carers and former carers in later life. Take-up of Carer’s Credit to protect people’s State Pension entitlement also remains too low, meaning many carers can miss out on receiving a full State Pension.

“We welcome the report’s recognition that better support for unpaid carers could help the UK economy by enabling people to stay in work longer overall. This is an important acknowledgement that supporting carers is both a social and an economic issue.

“There are practical steps that could make a real difference now. Improving awareness and access to the Carer Addition within Pension Credit could provide immediate support for older carers facing financial hardship. 65,000 carers are likely to be eligible for Pension Credit but are not receiving it. An additional payment for unpaid carers of State Pension age of £36.60 a week could lift 20,000 carers out of deep poverty, at an estimated annual cost of £300 million per year.”