Employers feel staff have inadequate infomation to plan for retirement

Amongst the findings of the inaugural Vebnet Reward Survey is the alarming admission that many employees do not have enough information by which to effectively plan for their retirement. 

Vebnet, the market-leading provider of technology and services for reward and benefits strategies to the world’s most progressive employers, has identified other key concerns facing both employers and employees. 
 
In the first industry wide survey of its kind, Vebnet polled 8,000 HR professionals across the UK. 

The majority of respondents were either HR directors or HR Managers from firms with between 1,000 and 5,000 employees and a turnover in excess of £10m. 

The survey has attempted to address all issues surrounding the provision of rewards and benefits. 
 
Apart from the startling fact that over 40% of employers are not giving their staff sufficient information to enable them to sufficiently plan for their retirement, another 53% feel that their employees do not have adequate retirement funding. 

At a time when it is becoming increasingly obvious that the State will not be able to fund an adequate pension, it is alarming that so many employees in the UK are insufficiently covered.
 
Other results that have emerged from the Survey include:

• 47% of respondents rank base salary competitiveness as their main reward issues


• About 60% of employers ranked cost controls as one of the key trends for 2009


• Over 62% of employers do not offer a flexible benefits package


• The most popular flexible benefit element is Childcare vouchers via salary sacrifice with over 86% of respondents offering them


• Over a quarter of respondents do not have a clear rewards communication strategy and do not personalise offerings for individual employees

2009 will be a tough year.  However, the survey suggests that successful organisations will be in a stronger position to rise to the challenges by making sure that they have the right mix of benefits. 

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In the current market it is essential that their reward strategy is performance- focused and holds strong against competitors. 

In order to attract and retain staff of the highest caliber, it is imperative that any rewards and benefits package meets HR objectives through strategic benefit programme design, whilst also addressing the needs of employees through innovative and researched communication strategies.
 
Gerry O’Neill, Chief Executive at Vebnet commented:
 
“As the global economy faces extremely challenging times, UK employers are beginning to confront issues that affect both them and their employees.  This survey comes at a vital time to help us understand the future direction of reward policy over the next few years.  We very much look forward to helping our clients rise to these challenges.”