Retirement savers expect investing in property to 'make the most' of their money

The findings, which come as part of an ongoing research project by the ONS, come despite the majority of respondents believing that paying into a workplace pension is the safest way to save for retirement. The percentage of respondents backing workplace pensions as the safest way to save for retirement actually increased since the last recorded figures, from 35% asked between July 2010 and June 2012 to 41% between July 2014 and June 2015.

"The ONS have provided us with an excellent illustration of the differing expectations that the public have as to what provides safety and what will provide the best return," said pensions expert Alastair Meeks of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.

"It's a shame that the ONS didn't ask a third question of its panel to establish which they would in practice prefer to invest in – they might in practice prefer safety over higher returns. Without that information, we are lacking the most important piece of the jigsaw puzzle," he said.

The ONS regularly surveys around 10,000 members of UK households on their attitudes to wealth and saving, including trust in pensions.

According to the figures, paying into an employer pension has been considered the safest way to save for retirement since the research began in 2010. Investing in property was considered the safest way to save by 28% of respondents to the latest survey, broadly in line with ONS findings during the last survey period between July 2012 and June 2014. Stocks, shares and premium bonds were considered the least safe ways to save.

Pension schemes and property were also considered the two methods most likely to make the most of saving for retirement, which the ONS said reflected "the growing confidence in property prices since July 2010". Of those asked for the latest survey, 44% thought that investing in property would make the most of their money, while 25% thought that paying into an employer pension scheme would do so. Responses favouring savings accounts and ISAs continued to fall over the latest survey period, which the ONS said could be due to "low interest rates impacting on people's attitudes towards investments".

The proportion of respondents with "sufficient knowledge and understanding about pensions" to make decisions about saving for retirement has gradually increased, the ONS said. Its latest survey received positive responses from 49% of those surveyed, up from 47% of those surveyed between July 2012 and June 2014 and 43% surveyed between July 2010 and June 2012. Awareness of the workplace pension reforms which introduced automatic enrolment also increased over the survey period, the ONS found.

However, a number of respondents to the survey were not currently saving for retirement at all. The proportion of those not currently saving that gave their reason for this as being due to low income, not working or still being in education rose from 38% between July 2010 and June 2012 to 50% between July 2014 and June 2015.