Small companies fail to offer pensions
One in 10 small and medium companies are flouting the law by failing to offer their staff a company pension scheme, a report showed today.
Under government pensions regulations, all companies with more than five employees are obliged to provide a scheme. But in a survey of 200 firms with a turnover of between £1m and £15m, Barclays Financial Planning found that 8% do not provide any sort of pension plan for employees.
Furthermore, just one in eight employers believe their staff are making sufficient contributions to secure a comfortable retirement.
The report found that on average, staff members pay 4.68% of their salary towards a pension, slightly less than the 4.82% that companies contribute.
However, only 5% of businesses taking part said they would increase the amount they contributed to help staff.
Stephen Ingledew, director of Barclays Financial Planning, said: "With the effort the government has made over recent years to raise awareness of the importance of pensions it is surprising there are still a number of companies failing to provide their staff with a pension scheme.
"A small contribution by employees on a regular basis will have a material effect on their quality of living during retirement.
"Employers should shoulder some responsibility in conveying to staff the importance of contributing to their pension schemes so they can have a more comfortable retirement."
SOURCE:Guardian Unlimited Wednesday March 7, 2007
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