Workplace pensions in demand

A consumer survey carried out by Populus for the National Association of Pensions Funds (NAPF) found that 75% of people think that having a workplace pension is important say and 66% would take a lower paid job to get one.

The survey examined attitudes to workplace pensions and their future prospects and NAPF Chief Executive Joanne Segars said: “This survey shows very clearly that workplace pensions are firmly planted in the minds of employees – the people who matter most.”

In the survey, respondents were asked how important is having a pension which comes with your job. Three quarters of respondents aged 18 to 65 said it was important.

53% of said it was very important
22% said it was quite important
24% said it was not important
1% did not give an answer

Respondents were also asked to consider a situation where there are two jobs on offer which are exactly the same in all respects apart from the package on offer – the first with a higher salary but no pension and the second paying a proportionately lower salary, but with a pension worth around £20K a year – respondents were asked which job they would choose.

66% of people aged 18 to 85 said they would choose the lower paid job, believing it is worth paying more now to get a decent retirement income

32% said they wanted a higher income now and would sort out a pension later and would therefore choose the job with the higher salary

2% didn’t know

Both the Government and Opposition, are strongly in favour of the NAPF proposal for a Good Pension Quality Mark. This is supported by the survey with an overwhelming 87% of people aged 18 to 65 saying a quality mark would help them work out whether a pension which comes with a job is a good one:

58% said it would be very helpful
28% said it would be quite helpful
11% said they didn’t think it would be that helpful
2% didn’t know