A Barclays reward professional urged employers to view pensions as a useful reward tool rather than a burden.
David Fitch, reward manager at Barclays, was addressing delegates attending the conference session Payback or payload? The place of pensions in today's reward package at the NAPF conference in Glasgow.
He said that offering a pension could protect an employer's brand and reputation, adding: "Pensions remain an important part of our overall offering. Pensions are not a burden they are a useful tool."
Using his own firm as an example, he said Barclays now offer a DC scheme and hybrid cash balance scheme after closing its defined benefit (DB) scheme, a career average scheme and another DC scheme to new members.
He said it is an attractive benefits to both employers and staff because of the tax benefits and added that Barclays also wants to make a long term investment in its employees and offer them a benefit they need.
Fitch said it was risky for employers to offer bonuses or cash rewards to employees instead of getting them to pay into a pension. "The employee could come back in 20 years time and say 'now I don't have anything to live on", he said.