Long-term planning beats short-term perks

As the credit crunch bites, employers are being reminded that Britain values its benefits and that many employees are looking for long-term support ahead of short-term financial gain. Research released from Friends Provident found that one in five (20 per cent) British workers have turned down a job due to the unattractive pension and holiday benefits offered.

The research reveals that, while the annual bonus is still attractive to boost finances in the short term, British employees also value schemes that can help them in the long run, with almost a quarter (22 per cent) singling out an employer contributory pension scheme as their preferred benefit.

The lure of particular employee benefits changes with age, and the emphasis is steadily increasing over time to focus on pension schemes. Over one third (35 per cent) of employees aged over 50 would select an employer contributory pension scheme as their favoured benefit as opposed to the under 50's who would prefer an annual bonus.

And it would bode well for the over 40's to secure a good pension scheme considering nearly a third (30%) of 41-50 year olds, and over a fifth (22 per cent) of those over 50 have no plans for the future and are hoping things will work out for the best.

Older employees are also more likely to turn down a job due to an unattractive benefits package (26 per cent) as opposed to those under 40 (21 per cent). And more than a third of employees (36 per cent) would feel incentivised to stay at work beyond the state retirement age by an attractive employee benefits package.

Martin Palmer, head of corporate pensions marketing at Friends Provident, said: "In these challenging times we are urging employers to recognise what workers in the UK want and to look further down the line when reviewing the role attractive pensions offerings and holiday packages play in attracting and retaining their staff.

"A pension is a very important benefit and will continue to have a major impact later on in the employees life. A good company pension scheme could be the difference between today's employees living a comfortable retirement tomorrow, or living close to the poverty line."