Pension Awareness Week is coming - what can employers do?

Pension Awareness Week runs from 15-19 September and is a national campaign designed to boost understanding of pensions and encourage people to take control of their retirement planning. Many employers and providers use the week to actively engage employees with their pension savings.

Why is it important?

Just before MPs ‘broke up’ for their summer holidays, the Government announced the formation of a new Pension Commission tasked with bringing forward proposals to improve outcomes for future pensioners. The size of the problem that needs to be tackled was highlighted by some of the accompanying documents:

• The Analysis of Future Pension Incomes showed that some 14.6m working age people are undersaving for retirement, with those in their 40s and 50s most likely to be affected (this is the group that are likely to have missed out on DB pensions and won’t have benefited from a full career automatically enrolled into a DC scheme).

• The findings of the Planning and Preparing for Later Life Survey 2024 indicated that 41% of 40-75 year olds had no idea how much income they would need in retirement and 13% of them had no confidence in their ability to make decisions about pension savings.

The Commission’s final report isn’t expected until 2027, so although help may be on the way, it will likely come too late for a significant proportion of today’s employees.

What can employers do to help?

Evidence shows many employees aren’t saving enough for retirement, and may not realise it until it’s too late. Pension Awareness Week is a great chance for employers to shine a light on pension saving and prompt action, with the added benefit of national media activity boosting the message.

Things employers could consider include:

• Using the free resources available on the Pension Awareness website. This year they have included a pension challenge which encourages individuals to:

  • Check the value of their current pension
  • Track down any old pensions
  • Work out how much they have saved so far
  • Consider how much they will need in retirement
  • Work out what to do if they need to boost their pension savings
• Checking in with their provider to see what they have planned - many offer webinars or resources you can share with employees.
• Targeting specific employee groups who may need extra support - such as those who’ve opted out of the pension or aren’t making the most of employer contributions.

What support can we offer?

We can help employers understand the retirement outcomes their employees are on track to achieve, highlight groups most at risk of under-saving, and suggest ways to support them. We’ll also make sure they're making the most of the support available from your provider, as many employers miss out on valuable resources.

If relevant, we can also connect them with our colleagues at Hymans Robertson Personal Wealth (HRPW), specialists in improving employee financial wellbeing.

If you’d like to find out more, we’d be happy to chat. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch.