This is according to a report from Aegon, which also found that a fifth (21%) of respondents were not allowed to check their workplace pension during working hours, and 75% were not encouraged to.
However, 73% of employees said they would welcome the introduction by their employer of regular times each month to check their pension. Most people (71%) thought that 15 minutes a month would be a reasonable amount of time. However, 40% said quarterly would be sufficient.
When asked what three things they would do with this time to check their pension, the most popular option was checking the value of their fund (84%), followed by checking their own contributions have been paid and are correct (69%), then using forecasting tools (50%), for example to understand the impact of increasing their contributions.
Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon, said employers have an important role to play. “Employers have invested significant time and effort in establishing their workplace schemes and are key to helping employees develop good pension saving habits,” she said. “By setting aside regular time to check their pension, staff are more likely to see the value of these important benefits provided by their employer and will start to think about saving and financial preparations for retirement.
“Our own experience has shown a 30% increase in employee engagement levels when the employer has endorsed the pension and encouraged staff to take action. This demonstrates how a small change from an employer can make a big difference to engagement levels in the workplace.”
