DAC Beachcroft, which has 2,230 UK-based employees, held a pensions roadshow at its Bristol office in September 2018, in conjunction with Scottish Widows. This enabled employees to book one-to-one consultations and attend a presentation on fund performance and available investment plans.
Sarah Young, head of reward at DAC Beachcroft, says: “People are beginning to get more interested and beginning to understand. [They] want to look at what the investments look like and decide for themselves. We’re certainly trying to ensure that everyone’s got as much pensions education as they can possibly take.”
DAC Beachcroft also conducted mini pensions roadshows, webinars and one-to-one financial advice across its 11 operating sites in the UK throughout September and October 2018.
This builds upon financial education measures implemented in 2017, which included roadshows at all UK sites, provided by Thomsons Online Benefits, as well as presentations and access to one-to-one financial advice throughout September and October. This was followed by the creation of an online pensions pack in November 2017, which featured frequently asked questions, material from the roadshows, and a link to an interactive pension modelling tool. In January 2018, the firm also held general financial wellbeing education through provider Nudge.
By August 2018, 9% of members of the workplace pension scheme were not invested in the default fund; this equates to 189 employees. Of this number, 93 employees were invested in more than one fund, 85 employees were invested in one fund and 11 were invested in another lifestyling approach.
“We’re trying to achieve that overall employee engagement in [pensions], so [employees are] actually making a decision, whether that’s to go into the scheme, opt out of the scheme or go further and make their own individual investment choices. That engagement is the really important piece of the puzzle,” concludes Young.