Employers urged to shoulder pensions responsibility

Many companies are failing to ensure that their staff are set for a comfortable retirement, a new report claims.

Research from Barclays found that ten per cent of small and medium-sized employers do not offer a company pension scheme despite government regulations stating this as a necessity.

Only 13 per cent of firms think their staff make sufficient contributions to allow for a comfortable retirement although 42 per cent of employers insist staff make a mandatory contribution to pension schemes.

Director of Barclays Financial Planning Stephen Ingledew said: "Employers should shoulder some responsibility in conveying to staff the importance of contributing to their pension schemes so they can have a more comfortable retirement."

On average, employees contribute 4.78 per cent of their salary towards their pension, slightly less than employers' average contribution of 4.82 per cent.

Yet research has shown that contributions to pension schemes are not increasing enough for people to get the same returns that they did ten years ago, according to Chris Curry, a spokesperson for the Pensions Policy Institute.

A recent Watson Wyatt study had indicated people need to contribute more in order to get the same kind of incomes that people in the past have received, he commented.

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