Survey still show many ill-informed on pensions

A recent survey by MORI for pensions consultants Towers Perrin shows that many people are still badly informed about their pension prospects. While over three-quarters of respondents believed they will be in a secure and stable financial position, 43% don't know how much they have to contribute to their employer's pension plan; 71% are not contributing any more than the minimum and 56% don't know how much their employer is paying in.

Unions are increasingly being faced by management with precise pay comparisons. In some cases this approach, known as pay benchmarking, is being used directly to set individual pay. The result is a growing variation in pay levels and pay increases within the same business, with banks a clear example of the trend. Bargaining Report looks at these developments.