A fifth (20%) of employer respondents intend to make changes to their workplace pension scheme as a result of the recent Budget and Department for Work and Pensions’ reforms, according to research by Hargreaves Lansdown.
The HL June employer survey, which questioned more than 300 employers, found that 60% of respondents think more employee engagement in savings decisions would make the pension system better.
Some 15% of respondents think that collective defined contribution schemes, which were set out by the government in the new Private Pensions Bill, will improve pension schemes in the UK.
The research also found that a third (33%) of respondents support increasing the minimum employer contributions for pensions auto-enrolment schemes.
Laith Khalaf (pictured), head of corporate research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The recent pension reforms mark a profound shift in the pensions landscape and should prompt a review of default strategies, retirement communications and the cost of advisory services.
“Almost every workplace pension scheme in the [UK] will have to make some changes to accommodate these new rules.
“However, at present, most employers appear to be seriously under-estimating the practical impact of these reforms. The danger is they are sleepwalking into offering a pension scheme that is no longer fit for purpose.”
