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Pension providers urged to reach out to members
11 April 2008 12:00
Europe's occupational pension schemes offer a wide degree of choice but many do not effectively monitor these options or advertise them to members, a new study has found.
Consultancy Mercer's survey of 235 companies across 13 countries showed that although they offer 15 investment options on average and some provide over 100, more than two out of five admitted to not regularly assessing the range or number of choices they have.
Moreover, while three out of five workplaces identified employee understanding and effective communication as key issues facing their scheme, only one in four of them actually supply their members with financial planning services or investment advice.
Similarly, over four out of five firms cited websites and personalised communication as important, but barely more than half of these schemes have an online presence and four out of five continued to use generic literature to reach out to their employees.
Mercer's Tim Buggraaf noted a contrast between employers' pension aims and achievements and advised that schemes must not just make information available but should tailor its provision to meet their members' individual needs.
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