Prudential UK is to provide all its staff with up to one day off each year
to attend personal financial planning sessions.
Russell Martin, HR director of Prudential UK, said the firm had decided to
take this step in response to growing concerns from employees about their
financial futures.
"There is a general belief that the whole issue is a complex and
difficult one to deal with," he said. "Making time to get to grips
with some of these issues is quite tricky, so we wanted to help individuals
take a step back and consider what they need to put in place to safeguard their
future."
Martin said the ‘Pru Planning Day’, which is equivalent to an investment of
50,000 hours a year by the company, will allow workers to meet financial
advisers, tackle tax self-assessment forms, arrange a mortgage or even make a
will.
"They can attend financial education seminars or use our specially devised
financial planning intranet site, which is totally dedicated to them,"
Martin added.
The company is calling on medium and large-sized employers to follow its
lead by doing more to help their staff with their financial planning – for
example, through facilitating greater access to professional advice and
education at work.
"As a leading financial services company, we want to play a key role in
persuading others to be more proactive in helping their people with their
financial planning," said Martin.
Research carried out by Prudential shows that eight in 10 people believe
their employers have a responsibility to help them with retirement planning.
The survey of more than 500 people aged 45 and above also reveals that only
10 per cent of respondents had been given time off to plan for retirement
before they stopped working.
By Ben Willmott
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