Putting pensions out in the open

Did you know that research undertaken by Jobsite in 2018 showed that 82% of their participants saw their workplace pension as an important benefit?

This means that not only are your employees looking at what goes into their bank account each month, they’re thinking about their future security and, if 2020 is anything to go by, it’s more important than ever for employees to be considering this. It’s great to know your pension scheme is valued but, in a recent survey from Teamspirit, nearly 30% of participants didn’t know where their pension savings go. 

So, as an employer, how can you help your employees?

1. Advocate - show you care about your employees’ future, talk to them about this in language they understand. Pensions can be a minefield; there’s legal bits, tax bits and it’s often written in complex legal terms. It may be 100% correct but, with the average reading age in the UK being 9 years old, it’s just words if they can’t follow it.
2. Communicate - employees value pension schemes and this increases the more they understand about them. You might not be able to give your employees advice, but you can inform them.
3. Educate – employees achieve better outcomes at retirement when they’re more engaged with, and understand, both their pension and the choices they need to make, whatever age they are.

Whether you’ve chosen to provide a website, regular newsletters or perhaps even seminars, you need to give your employees clear and simple information and, most importantly, make it understandable! Where this information is held and how you ensure it reaches those who need it is just as important. Communicating with one another electronically has increased even further since the global pandemic began. An online presence ensures your employees have the information they need when they need it and, by making it easy to find answers when those niggling questions pop up in their minds, you can make sure you’re helping them.

Pensions are obviously a complex subject. Even if the idea is a pretty simple one, it’s not as simple as just paying in and seeing what comes out at the end. Which is why it’s so important for employers to add value and let your employees know what’s happening with their money. Retirement matters to your employees and good pensions communications are one way of demonstrating that your employees matter to you.