Workers not saving for retirement

Employers are not doing enough to encourage workers to join company pension schemes, says an Age Concern report.

The report published last month said lack of information and limited opportunities are deterring many workers from making crucial savings towards their retirement, but the charity also highlights the problem of workers who don't feel they can afford to contribute to a pension scheme.

To save or not to save: workers' pensions and provision for retirement is based on a survey of union members and was researched and written by the Labour Research Department. Four unions, T&G, USDAW, BECTU and PCS, helped with the survey by distributing questionnaires to members.

Most of those taking part were members of their employer's scheme but 30% of non-members said they hadn't joined when they started work and hadn't been asked again. In one case an employee had to wait three years before being allowed to join the scheme.

Age Concern believes employers should consider automatically enrolling staff, so that they actively have to opt out if they don't want to belong to the scheme. And non-members should be invited to join on an annual basis.

The report also showed, however, that 29% of non-members of pensions schemes felt they could not afford to contribute at the moment. One in five non-member employees gave "other financial priorities" as a reason for not joining.

www.ageconcern.org.uk/