Employers are failing to properly communicate the value of their benefits packages to staff. So while almost two-thirds (63%) of employers say that they tell their staff the value of their total benefits package, only just over a third of employees (39%) believe that they receive this information, according to The return on pension expenditure survey by Alexander Forbes Financial Services.
There is a similar difference of opinion with regard to the provision of workplace education. Despite 43% of employers claiming to provide workplace financial education, 75% of staff said they do not receive this benefit at all.
The survey, which polled 157 decision makers at companies that provide employer-sponsored pensions, also reveals that 53% of these respondents believe pensions are an important tool to recruit and retain staff. However, 85% of the 1,197 staff surveyed, who are all members of an employer-sponsored pension scheme, said their employer had never asked them if they valued their pension.
Three-quarters of employer respondents, meanwhile, also believe that the single most important reason for providing a pension scheme is to allow staff to retire with financial security.