Over a third of millennials say financial anxiety is negatively affecting their job performance, according to research from financial platform Mintago.
A total of 436 people from the UK were polled, all of whom were employed full-time and were between the ages of 18 and 34. The survey found that over a third of 18-34-year-olds believe their job performance is being harmed by financial concerns. Only 9 per cent of employees aged 55 and up share this sentiment.
The survey also found that 48 per cent believe their employment pension to be a valuable benefit, 51 per cent have no idea how much they pay into their pension each month.
But 66 per cent of young workers do not check on their pension savings regularly. The majority of people or 54 per cent feel that saving for retirement is difficult.
According to Mintago’s research, 60 per cent of younger employees would be more engaged with their pension if it was easy to track savings and alter contributions. 55 per cent want their business to do more to improve employee participation in their workplace pension plan.
Mintago CEO Chieu Cao says: “Workplace pensions are extremely important – for millions of Britons, they are the primary method of saving for retirement. However, our research shows that employees, particularly younger ones, are struggling to engage with their company’s pension schemes.
“An employer should not just auto-enrol staff in a workplace pension and then consider this box to be ticked. Businesses must help employees to better understand their pension scheme, the benefits of saving and make it easier for employees to change their contributions. Improving access to financial information for employees, such as the size of their pension pots and how best to manage them, needs to be prioritised by organisations.
“Doing so will benefit employees by putting their mind at ease and enhancing their overall wellbeing. It will put them in better control of their finances, and it will allow them to plan for their eventual retirement more effectively – something the majority of young people feel is daunting because they don’t know where to start. Ultimately, improving pension engagement will help to ease a major cause of stress within the workplace, creating a happier and healthier workforce.”