RETIREMENT PLANS
UK – HR professionals are the most pessimistic group among all the job functions when it comes to their readiness for retirement.
According to Mercer's What's Working TM research, more than one third of 2,400 workers in over 1,000 private sector organisations in the UK were unhappy that their organisation was not doing enough to help them retire.
Worryingly, when the data divided the findings into job functions, HR practitioners were among those had the least optimism on their retirement prospects. For a department that also oversees corporate pension benefits, HR respondents revealed that they were not confident of their employer’s retirement provision. Only 28% said their company was doing enough to help with pension provision compared to the average (35%).
Under half (47%) of HR professionals polled were not satisfied with their company's retirement plans compared to the average employee (49%). A third of HR folks were also less confident in preparing for their retirement.
Yet 59% of HR respondents felt their communication strategy on pensions was easy to understand. Some 45% added that employees had access to sufficient information to make informed decisions.
Overall, only 35% were satisfied with their pension schemes while one in three were unsure about their ability to retire.
Just 38% of employees felt they were doing enough to prepare financially for their retirement. Those aged between 21 and 45 had the least confidence about their retirement prospects.
However, senior management are overwhelmingly more confident that they are well-prepared for their retirement (61%) compared to non-management staff (33%). Two-thirds of senior leaders are also more likely to agree that their company is doing enough to help them prepare for retirement than non-management staff (30%).
Nonetheless, Jenny Condron, a partner at Mercer, said it is worrying that HR has “a less than positive view” of their pension strategy, provision and communications since these areas of responsibility fall under them.
Condron added that HR departments, like other employees, would benefit from improving their retirement benefits knowledge and ensuring clear communication for the pension scheme. “It's important that employers see value for money from the benefits provided, and this won't happen if employees remain poorly informed.”
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