The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has published a new guide aimed at helping employers start a conversation with workers about their workplace pension.
This guide is designed to encourage employers to help workers make good decisions about their future retirement and educate them on issues such as making the most of employer contributions.
The PLSA says many more people now contribute to workplace pensions through AE but people now have more choice when it comes to investment options and accessing these benefits.In many cases, employers and schemes want to provide this support, but are unsure what information they can provide without falling within regulations which govern personal financial advice.
This guide describes the regulatory context, such as the so-called advice/guidance boundary and provides practical examples of conversations that would and wouldn’t fall within the realms of regulated advice.
PLSA’s director of policy and advocacy Nigel Peaple says: “With more employers and savers involved in workplace pensions than ever before, schemes and many employers are eager to help improve savers’ understanding of their pension.
Our new guide sets out the ground rules, highlights some of the opportunities, and dispels some commonly held misunderstandings.
“There has been innovation in pensions awareness, engagement and support too, with the PLSA creating the very widely used Retirement Living Standards to help savers picture their future. And earlier this Pensions Awareness Week we set out our “Pensions: Five Things to Know” campaign which is aimed at ensuring everyone in the UK understands the basics of pension saving.
“We need to talk more about pensions. We want to dispel the myths that employers can’t talk to their staff about their workplace pension scheme or that giving any help at all would mean they are giving regulated advice.
“By starting a national conversation about workplace pensions and encouraging everybody to learn a few basics about how their retirement savings work, we believe we can promote better financial wellbeing and help more people achieve a better income in retirement.”
This week the PLSA issued survey data from research it has undertaken with the British public as well as five key messages that it believes all savers should know to help them better understand their pensions and dispel some of the myths about retirement saving.
The five key messages are:
- A full state pension is worth £9,339
- Most people are automatically enrolled in a workplace pension
- There are tools to help you assess how much to save and how much you will need in retirement
- You have choices to make about drawing your pension
- Information and advice is available