The average combined employer and employee contribution to a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme now totals 10%, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Its Employee outlook: focus on employee attitudes to pay and pensions survey, which surveyed nearly 2,700 employees, found that, on average, respondents who earn more than £48,000 see 13% in total contributions into their pension, while those who earn between £9,441 and £13,300 see just 7%.
The research also found that a third of respondents do not expect a pay rise in 2014, while a further third expect the same rise in 2014 as in 2013.
More than half (54%) of respondents in the private sector received a pay rise in 2013, compared with 51% in the voluntary sector and 43% in the public sector.
The research also found:
- Around a quarter of those who are ineligible to be auto-enrolled into a pension scheme because they are too young, old or do not earn enough, would still like to be enrolled into a pension.
- On average, respondents expect to retire at the age of 66.
- Those not in a pension scheme expect to retire at 67, with just over one in 10 of those who are not in a pension scheme expecting to carry on working past the age of 75.
Mark Beatson (pictured), chief economist at the CIPD, said: “The politically-charged debate about wages and the cost of living won’t be solved by politicians trading blows over statistical analyses.
“Instead, we need to recognise as a nation that real increases in pay will only be delivered through increases in productivity, and that for this to happen we need employers, employees and policy makers to come together in a combined effort to improve UK productivity.
“We need a shared agenda to produce the long-term improvement in productivity needed to make higher pay affordable and sustainable without pushing up unemployment.”
With salary growth falling behind inflation, employers need to find other ways to engage staff. In a climate of limited salaries, employees will be paying more attention to the other benefits available to them, so employers should review their benefits packages to make sure they meet staff needs.
This is something HR departments are increasingly focusing on. Research we conducted with Populus last year found that 62% of employers see their benefit packages, typically worth 20 to 40% of salary, as increasingly attractive recruitment tools.
Providing benefits alone is not enough; effective communication is also vital. If staff are unaware of the benefits on offer, or don’t understand them, they won’t appreciate them.