EXCLUSIVE: Just under 40% of employers are ready to implement a financial education strategy in 2015, according to research by Hargreaves Lansdown.
The investment firm’s report HL corporate pensions, based on a survey of 250 respondents, also found that almost half are concerned about whether their employees will be able to afford to retire.
When questioned about auto-enrolment, one in five employers would ensure their employees received better communications and guidance if they had the chance to go through the compliance process again.
The findings also showed that communication quality was variable. Just over a quarter (27%) of respondents said that the communications employees received were excellent, however, the same proportion rated communications as acceptable or worse.
Hargreaves Lansdown has launched a 10-step guide to implementing a financial education strategy. These steps include:
- Understand staff requirements.
- Clear, timely and targeted communications.
- Branded communications and website.
- Group presentations.
- One-to-one meetings.
- Independent research.
- Access to useful tools.
- Evolve the strategy.
- Utilise applications for smartphones and tablets.
- Access to free guides.
Nathan Long, head of corporate pension research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “These results show many employers are ahead of the curve when it comes to their company pension.
“They recognise auto-enrolment has not gone far enough and are looking to workplace financial education to help bridge the savings gap.
“Financial education allows staff to understand for themselves how to manage their own affairs. This allows them to not only make the most of their company pension, but also their salary as a whole.
“Implementing an inspiring financial education strategy can be likened to the old Chinese proverb ‘teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime’.”
