This week HR magazine launches its third annual HR Reward Survey sponsored by employee benefits solutions provider Vebnet and savings and investments company Standard Life.

What a year it has been. Since we published our 2010 results this time last year, there has been one word dominating the news: cuts. The budget cuts afflicting the public sector have reached deep into the HR field, with pensions and headcounts coming under the Government's spotlight. But, as the savvy HRD knows, these issues also have a way of filtering through into the private sector.

The importance of reward in HR strategy was evident even in the sheer number of respondents to this year's survey: 516, up from 348 in 2010. With pervasive pay freezes - and even suggestions of pay cuts - reward and benefits remain at the heart of our respondents' strategic focus. A clear majority - some 59.1% - say base salary competitiveness is their number one reward issue this year.

But with a year to go until pensions auto-enrolment pushes retirement savings to the forefront of HR, it is disturbing the survey found only a third of respondents (34.5%) have a strategy in place for pensions, while a sixth (16.1%) haven't given it any thought at all. This is only a slight improvement on 2010's report, when 21.3% had a plan in place for pensions and 21.9% had not given the issue any consideration.

And with the economic outlook still characterised as 'uncertain' and employees in consequence worrying about their future, engagement is key - 42.9% of CEOs, MDs or HR professionals rated this as their number one people issue for 2012. Employees are experiencing worries around long-term savings, investments, mortgages and debt. This is matched with a hardly groundbreaking growth in GDP (0.2% at the end of July) and economists threatening another - dare I whisper it? - recession. A perfect opportunity, you would think, for employers to be reaping the benefits of providing financial education to staff. Our survey shows this is not the case.

Only 34.5% are providing education on pensions (down from 40.7% in 2010) and the drop in interest in financial education strategy is evident for ISAs, mortgages, shares, insurance and debt management. A massive 52.7% of employers said they do not offer financial education and they have no plans to do so.

With changes afoot in pay, pensions and headcount, employers who don't arm their staff with information about their personal finances are shooting themselves in the foot, especially if they want to engage staff with their benefits.

I just hope the information in this report can serve as a wake-up call… click here to read more.