EXCLUSIVE: More than three-quarters (79%) of employer respondents do not expect their organisation will contribute to the new lifetime individual savings account (Lisa), according to the Employee Benefits/Xerox HR Services Benefits research 2016, published in June.
The savings vehicle was announced by Chancellor George Osborne in the March 2016 Budget. From April 2017, individuals aged 18-40 will be able to open a Lisa. This allows individuals to contribute up to £4,000 a year and receive a 25% government bonus if the money is put towards a first home or withdrawn as retirement income after the age of 60.
Season ticket loan is top workplace savings benefit
The research, which surveyed a total of 338 respondents, also found that more than half (53%) of respondents offer employees access to a season-ticket travel loan. Around three-quarters (76%) of these respondents provide this as a core benefit to all staff, and 17% offer it as part of their voluntary benefits programme.
Financial wellbeing support also features among the top five workplace benefits offered by respondents, with 29% providing financial education and 24% facilitating access to financial advice. Both are principally offered as core benefits to all staff members, at 85% and 81%, respectively. This represents a significant increase on the 14% of respondents in the Employee Benefits Benefits research 2014, published in May 2014, that offered financial education as a core benefit to all staff, and the 15% that provided access to financial advice in this way.
