Employees would rather have a pension than enjoy other benefits such as flexible working or bonuses, a survey has found.
A study of 1,232 employees by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) found the importance of working flexibly had dropped three percentage points to 20% in the year to March 2009, and bonuses from 21% to 17%over the same period.The desire to have a pension had risen from 30% to 34%in the 12 months measured.
The NAPF Pensions Confidence Index also showed confidence in pensions as a way of saving had increased by six percentage points to 7% from December year-on-year, while two in five employees (39%) rated pensions as the best way to save for retirement, double the number of people relying on property investments.
Joanne Segars, chief executive of NAPF, said the improvement was small but significant.”Confidence in pensions is better than it was a year ago, but the current economic environment means while it remains positive it is also very fragile,” she said.
