Employees ‘abandoned’ at-retirement by their employers.

18th January 2017

A new survey has found that only 10% of employers believe that their employees are saving enough for their retirement and almost half (48%) of employers believe that their employees are not aware of the various retirement income options available to them at-retirement.

The survey also found that only 20% of employers provided a full retirement income service for employees at-retirement.

The survey was carried out by WEALTH at work, a leading provider of financial education in the workplace, supported by guidance and advice, to investigate what’s changed in the workplace since the introduction of the new pension rules in April 2015. Its aim was to understand the attitudes and opinions of a range of UK companies in recognising the need to support their employees as they approach retirement.

Jonathan Watts-Lay, Director, WEALTH at work comments; “I fear that employees are set to fail from the start when it comes to generating sufficient pension savings. With contribution rates for auto enrolment set so low, I believe that there is still a long way to go until we are at a stage where the majority of people are producing sufficient pension savings for financial security in retirement. Without even a basic level of understanding of their options, it is hard to see how individuals can achieve a good income in retirement.”

He continues; “It’s clear that many people are simply abandoned at-retirement and are left incredibly vulnerable to making poor decisions due to the lack of support available, or worse still, being scammed by ‘an offer too good to ignore’. Financial support at this point must be made a priority given the enormity of the decisions that employees face at this stage of their life.”

Watts-Lay concludes; “Many employees save into their company pension scheme for many years only to be abandoned at the time that they really need help and support. But it doesn’t have to be this way. I urge individuals to speak to their employers to encourage them to offer help at this crucial time.

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