The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has released a new guide to communicating pensions. The guide tackles the age-old problem of how to promote pensions in a clear and interesting way that will encourage employees to take action.Charles Cotton, CIPD reward advisor, said: "Employers need to try to explain what the pensions issue is and why it is important, not just hand out some paper and hope for the best."An enormous amount of money is spent on pensions, but itÂ’s wasted if companies hide their lights under a bushel."The guide was written in partnership with the Employer Task Force on Pensions, as part of an initiative to foster financial awareness. It uses case studies to illustrate steps employers can take to get staff up to speed. "Through the guide you can learn from the processes of other organisations and tailor them to meet your own circumstances and needs of employees," said Cotton.Case studies cover small, medium and large organisations, including Nationwide, Honeywell, Gap and Eli Lilly. Gap, for instance, managed to boost take-up rates among its young staff by branding pensions in a style conscious way.Other topics covered include communicating defined benefit plans, selling stakeholder schemes, online communication and using flexible benefits to communicate pensions.