More than half of all final salary pension schemes are now closed to new
recruits or to all members of staff, according to research by the Association
of Consulting Actuaries (ACA).
Thirty-five per cent of employers have reviewed their scheme in the past
year and 32 per cent are ‘currently’ reviewing their pensions arrangements.
More than 42 per cent of employers are trying to reduce spending on pensions
and 51 per cent are looking to reduce forward pension liabilities.
ACA chairman Gordon Pollock called on the Government’s forthcoming pensions
Green Paper to bolster occupational pensions by offering employers tax or other
incentives if they provide them to staff.
The research finds employer contributions into final salary schemes have
increased by 14 per cent in the past year, while contributions into
occupational money purchase schemes are not increasing to offset deteriorating
investment returns.
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Less than 1 per cent of employees at the firms surveyed have joined
stakeholder schemes.
