33% expect employers will fund workplace financial guidance

A third (33%) of respondents expect that employers will have to fund financial guidance for their entire workforce following the pension reforms announced in the Budget 2014, according to research by Jelf Employee Benefits.

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Its research, which surveyed more than 200 employers, found that just over a quarter (28%) of respondents think employers will have to fund financial education on a case-by-case basis, while 27% do not think employers will fund financial education in the workplace.

Almost nine in ten (87%) respondents agreed that the government’s pension reforms, which will give pension scheme members greater flexibility at retirement, will create a need for more financial education in the workplace.

Just 7% of respondents do not think the reforms will create a need for greater financial education in the workplace, while 5% said they were not sure.

Steve Herbert (pictured), head of benefits strategy at Jelf Employee Benefits, said: “Retirement choices and succession planning are set to become increasingly complex for employees and employers, respectively. 

“So it’s really good news that so many organisations now appear to recognise that financial education in the workplace should become the new norm within employee benefits packages.

“For far too long financial education in the workplace has been the preserve of only the largest employers in the UK. 

“It now appears that organisations of all sizes are waking up to the value of this guidance, and a significant minority already seem prepared to support the funding of such a service for all employees.”