Nearly six in ten (56%) employees are concerned they are not saving enough for retirement.
According to the Employee Outlook: Focus on Pensions survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), more than half (54%) of employees are not members of a workplace pension scheme.
The survey also found there a higher proportion of private sector workers (65%) do not saving into a company pension scheme, compared to the voluntary (40%) and public sector (12%).
In addition, around one-fifth (18%) of employees are not aware of how much their employer contributes on their behalf.
Meanwhile, almost a third (27%) of public sector workers are unaware of their own contributions, compared to 11% in the private sector and 16% in the voluntary sector.
When asked what would encourage them to save more, 44% of employees stated knowing the size of the pension pot they would have to achieve in order to retire comfortably, while 39% said information or advice about the amount they would need to save each month would be encouraging.
Nearly one in three (28%) said regular updates about the value of their pension would encourage them to save more.
Charles Cotton, reward adviser at the CIPD, said: “Firms are facing a huge challenge in light of 2012 auto-enrolment.
“It is crucial the government supports employers’ efforts to communicate to employees the implications of these changes. If not, we will continue to sleepwalk into a pensions’ crisis.
“There is a real danger that, without government support, 2012 auto-enrolment will prove to be a missed opportunity in achieving a step change in the uptake of pensions.”
Read more articles on auto-enrolment and the 2012 pension changes
This research is quite alarming. It shows that nearly half (44%) of those employees surveyed would be encouraged to save more if they knew the size of the pension pot needed to achieve a comfortable retirement. Therefore, it is essential that financial education is provided to employees to ensure they know not only what they need to save but also how to find the money to make the contributions. This is essential if poverty is to be avoided in retirement.