Pension Provision Survey Results

Jan 09, 2012

We thank all those who participated in our end of year Pension Survey last December – the response was encouraging and represents the views of some 50 pension scheme sponsors and a similar number of pension schemes.

The headline results are presented below and attached are graphs with the results for each question asked.

Headline Results

The perceived value of pension schemes

62% of employers report that a company scheme is still seen as a major employee benefit by workers, however 22% of new employees are not interested in pensions and a staggering 97% of younger employees (under 40) are not thinking about their pensions.  Only half of the sponsors considered a company scheme as vital and 24% viewed their scheme as a financial millstone.

Auto Enrolment

56% of sponsors already have plans in place to meet their obligations, with 87% of trustees having a good or excellent understanding of the impact of auto enrolment on their schemes.  By contrast however very few employees are engaged with the changes, with only 28% of sponsors reporting any questions being asked by employees.

The position of trustees

73% of trustees believe they have a full understanding of their role and responsibilities and 69% would still volunteer to be a trustee.  Most information on pension issues is obtained from advisers (90%) and the government is not seen as a source of information by any respondent.

About public sector pension changes

56% of sponsors agree with the proposed changes, 31% believe they should go further and just 13% believe that public sector workers benefits should be retained in their current form.

About the Pension Protection Fund Levy

48% of respondents feel that including investment risk in the levy calculation is a backward step whilst 39% believe that it is sensible with the rationale for changing the rules sound.

BBS Consultants & Actuaries

Pension Survey 2011 Results _charts.pdf (PDF document, 381.9 kB)