Only four per cent of people in Britain trust the Government to keep it's word on pensions, according to a survey which was featured in BBC One's Panorama programme.

The survey, which was carried out by Dr Ros Altmann and YouGov, showed that people had no idea that they face having no pension if their firm goes bankrupt.

When asked who people would trust to keep their word and not let you down when it came to private pensions - 59% of those asked said they trusted no-one at all.

Only 4% of people said they trusted the Government to not let them down when it came to private pensions, and only 14% said they trusted their actual pension company.

Pension rights

The news wasn't much better when it came to those with occupational pensions.

Nearly half of those asked (46%) said they didn't trust anyone to keep their word or not let them down.

Only 3% of those who responded said they trusted the Government over company pensions, while just 35% said they trusted their own employer to keep their word.

The survey, for which YouGov polled more than 7,000 people, also showed the lack of knowledge people have about their pension rights.

When those with a private sector pension were asked what would happen if their employer went bust - just 8% of people knew that they could lose most or all of their pension.

Almost two fifths of people (39%) thought that the pension rights they had accrued would be completely protected, while 37% of those asked admitted they did not know what would happen.

YouGov is a leading opinion research agency.