One third of people with a workplace pension don’t know how much their employer is paying into it, research shows. The Attitudes to Pensions survey, conducted on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), suggests that people have a lack of knowledge about their occupational pension provision, with almost one in three (30 per cent) of those saving into a workplace scheme unable to say how much their employer is contributing.
The findings reveal that in the private sector around six in ten (59 per cent) of workers do not currently contribute to a workplace pension. With employer contributions amounting to extra cash on top of a person’s salary, they have the potential to turn a modest pension pot into a more valuable nest egg. However, the research suggests that many could be missing out by not even finding out about the pension on offer as an important part of their employee benefits package.
Pensions Minister Steve Webb said: “This research confirms the fact that too many people are not saving into a pension, which is why the plans we announced this week to introduce automatic enrolment into workplace pensions are so vitally important.
“In 2009 nearly 13 million jobs had no pension provision. Our reforms will mean up to 8 million people newly saving or saving more with support from their employer, helping to transform people’s prospects for retirement.”
