Long term project launched to help corporates with future pensions adequacy provisions

A new three-year project aimed at helping companies position themselves at the forefront of future pension adequacy provision has been launched by Hymans Robertson.

The leading pensions and financial services firm says responsibility will increasingly fall on corporates to address the adequacy of retirement savings, as they will play a key role in solving the looming UK retirement crisis. The firm says it is imperative that companies take proactive steps to ensure their employees can retire comfortably. Failure to do so will result in substantial challenges for businesses, as employees facing inadequate retirement savings will be forced to make difficult decisions regarding their retirement and employment patterns. Hymans Robertson’s new initiative will focus on equipping companies with the tools and strategies needed to adapt to these changes over the next two to three years.

Commenting on the newly launched corporate retirement adequacy project, Leonard Bowman, Head of Corporate Consulting, Hymans Robertson says:

“From our annual survey of UK companies, 35% of employers believe that the responsibility for ensuring employees have a suitable retirement income sits with them. Whilst this is already a sizeable proportion of UK companies, we expect that percentage to climb dramatically over the next few years. We believe the proactive role of companies in addressing adequacy in retirement will be fundamental to the UK retirement landscape over the coming decades. As a firm, we’re committed to supporting businesses through this transition, ensuring they are well-prepared to cope with the changes and continue to thrive.

“Critically, as employees approach retirement with inadequate retirement savings, this will increasingly cause serious issues for employers. Employees will be forced to make undesirable decisions around their retirement and employment patterns, with both wide and far-reaching consequences for UK corporates.

“At the same time, we know that the Government policy will evolve and will almost certainly impact companies in unforeseen ways. On the bright side, with momentum continuing to build around CDC and growing innovation in the DC market, better and more efficient solutions are emerging all the time. Corporates must be in a position to make informed decisions around these changes.

“What this all means is that companies need to engage today in regard to the issues coming down the road, in order to be in the best possible place to align their corporate strategy with what is coming. Our call to action is driven by a belief that companies need to be at the heart of any solutions, and must avoid being caught out in a few years’ time by what could be quite seismic changes to the UK retirement landscape.”