3 November 2022
At Verlingue we believe that employee engagement with workplace pension schemes remains far too low. We know that over half of UK employees struggle to understand how to even access their pension information. When we do get the opportunity to educate employees on pension matters, we are never surprised to hear their positive feedback as they feel better equipped to make informed decisions.
The current ‘cost of living’ crisis also threatens the vital role workplace pension schemes play in helping provide for a comfortable retirement. Evidence is starting to emerge that some employees are looking to reduce their pension contributions to cope with spiralling household costs and to make ends meet. The financial impact of such action is less understood and the recent FT Adviser article ‘Pension providers take action to prevent reduced contributions’ highlights their concerns for employees.
Work is underway to improve the situation with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) leading an industry initiative to get people to engage with their pensions. A total of 15 pension providers are working collaboratively to drive this campaign to promote the importance of checking on your pension and understanding what you have.
The campaign to drive pension engagement
Pension Geeks kick start the campaign with Pensions Awareness Week between 31st October- 4th November 2022. For the 9th year running Pension Geeks aim to educate people with lively and energetic sessions to really get them engaged on the importance of saving into their pension.
Throughout the week Pension Geeks (who are part of Aegon) will host a calendar of live, interactive online events that your employees can sign up to here. There will also be a specially designed site full of useful resources including recordings of the webinars for any employees who can’t dial into the live webinars.
Making it easy for you to promote Pension Awareness Week
Pension Geeks have made it easy for you to promote this great event by creating a toolkit which contains everything you'll need to help encourage your employees to take part.
And you’ll find it all on their website – pensionawarenessday.com/downloads
The campaign will continue throughout the end of October until late November and there will be lots of activities including:
- Pension Tracing Day - 31 October
- Talk Money Week - 7-12 November
This will all be aimed at increasing the level of understanding about workplace pensions and getting members to take simple steps such as checking their contact details are up to date, activating their online account and tracing their lost pensions.
If you want to know more about how to help your employees engage with their pension, please contact your employee benefits consultant or email our Employee Benefits specialist Stewart.Neale@verlingue.co.uk