05 October 2006
Employers could double the take-up of their pension schemes by
communicating the benefits to staff more effectively, according to
insurance company Winterthur.
Winterthur communication consultant Helen Gilchrist said: "From
my experience effective employee communications programmes can
generate dramatic increases in pension scheme take up, in some
cases, from below 40% to almost 90% over recent times. This
underlines the benefits of engaging with employees about their
pensions arrangements and options.
"If you create bespoke educational programmes that reflect the
specific needs of the organisation and its workforce, you can
change the perception of saving for retirement dramatically - not
only increasing pension scheme take-up but employee contribution
levels as well.
"The profile of the workforce is an important factor in
tailoring communications and often the hardest task is getting
younger people to take an interest in their pension provision.
Making it relevant to this audience is very important. Educating
the older workforce should also not be overlooked, as providers
need to ensure they are making enough provision and reviewing their
fund options on a regular basis.
"The publicity surrounding pensions means that it is
increasingly important to encourage employees to join their company
pension schemes. Streamlined joining is of course a big help in
achieving this. However, employees also need help to decide how
much to pay and where to invest. We are also seeing a growing
appetite amongst employees for online access to their pensions.
These can be integrated within an existing web offering which
provides members, trustees and administrators with online access to
their pension scheme. Ideally, the online service should allow
members to make investment and contribution changes and offer a
pension calculator to help them project future retirement
income."
