The survey of 500 human resources decision makers and over 1,000 employees in the UK, which was conducted by YouGov, found that:
At a time when half the UK believes they won’t have enough money to support their desired lifestyle in retirement2, these findings highlight the high value that employees place on their employer’s pension contributions and that employers can play a significant role in helping their staff maximise their potential pension pots.
The People’s Pension is encouraging businesses to get the full value from their pension contributions by promoting them when recruiting, reminding staff about their existing pension benefits, and where possible, increasing employer contributions above the minimum requirements.
Commenting on the survey, Darren Philp, Director of policy at The People’s Pension, said: Employers have played an important part in making auto-enrolment a huge success and helping millions of people save towards their retirement. Five years on from its introduction, the majority of employees now value their employer pension contributions as an important benefit, yet there’s a clear disconnect between how highly they regard it and how much their employers think they do.
“This research shows the high value that employees put on employers’ pension contributions as part of their wider reward package. Under auto-enrolment, employers have to provide a pension for their staff, so they might as well make the most of it.
“By promoting their pension contributions when recruiting, reminding staff about the importance of saving for retirement, and where possible, increasing employer contributions above the minimum requirements, they’ll not only help their staff plan for the retirement they deserve, but also benefit their business by helping them to recruit and retain staff.”
• Almost seven in 10 (69%) employees consider employer pension contributions as important when looking for a new job. This compares starkly with more than four in 10 (46%) employers not promoting their pension scheme as an employee benefit to prospective employees, and more than half (57%) thinking the amount their business contributes to its pension doesn’t make a difference to employee recruitment.
• More than half (54%) of employees would increase the amount of money they contribute to the workplace pension if their employer did the same, yet less than a quarter of employers (24%) said they would increase the amount they pay in for some or all employees over the next 12 months.
• More than eight in 10 (83%) employees whose employer currently provides them with pension contributions
Value these contributions. However, more than half of employers (56%) think that the amount their business contributes to their pension scheme doesn’t make a difference to employee retention and less than two in 10 (18%) employers will promote their company pension scheme to existing staff in the next 12 months.
• Nine in 10 (90%) employees think auto-enrolment was a good idea.
|
