It has been a turbulent year for pensions

Opas, which provides a support service for the public, said people were particularly concerned about poor returns on investments, and the closure of final salary schemes.

There was also increasing concern about the lack of protection on work schemes, which had been highlighted through high-profile cases, such as steel firm ASW, during the year.

ASW went into receivership in July last year and workers at the firm lost up to 90% of the value of their occupational pensions.

On Friday, the Amicus trade union is planning to take a case to the European Court of Justice on behalf of its members who used to work at ASW and a separate company, United Engineering Forgings.

Pensions crunch

Opas said it had been one of the most turbulent years in the history of UK pensions, with a "developing lack of confidence in pensions - and those responsible for providing them."

Sometimes (pension companies) are more concerned with the process than the customer - and use too much jargon Malcolm McLean, Opas Worried about your pension? Click here for BBC News Online's pensions website

Restoring confidence in pensions was essential, it said.

"We would appeal to everyone involved - government and providers alike - to work together to provide a better, more secure, more customer-focused system then has existed to date, " said Malcolm McLean, chief executive of the service.

"If people are to be encouraged to save for their old age, they must be given the confidence and support necessary for them to do so."

Opas said over the last year it had also received more complaints about unacceptable levels of service from pension companies.

Mr McLean said this reflected increasing concern among people over pensions, but also said some of the blame lay at the pension industry's door.

"Sometimes they are more concerned with the process than the customer - and use too much jargon," Mr McLean told BBC News Online.

Other problems identified in the report concerned employers not paying their workers' contributions - and problems with independent trustees.

Tightening up

One trend identified in the report was an increasing reluctance by employers to pay ill-health pensions.

"In the past it has been a lot easier to qualify for an ill-health pension, but the reality is that paying pensions early is expensive for the scheme and the company, at a time when funding is at a premium," said Mr McLean.

Schemes were therefore tightening their rules.

For example, someone seeking an ill-health pension may now be required to prove they can not work at all, rather than simply proving they could not do their old job.