Govt acts but no evidence of work until you drop

Employee pension and retirement views fly in face of reality - MORI survey says

There is also very little evidence of a work until you drop mentality in the workforce just yet, according to a survey coinciding with the Government''s announcements today.

Just 5% (mainly men) say they expect to retire at 70 or over, while the vast majority anticipate retiring either at 60 (31%) or at 65 (29%).

In breakdown 10% of men and 16% of women believe they will retire between 55 and 59; 27% of men and 41% of women believe they will retire between 60 and 64; 37% of men and 19% of women believe they will retire between 65 and 69; while 6% of men and 1% of women expect to retire at the age of 70 or over.

The survey by MORI for recruitment and HR consultancy Eden Brown indicates the public is still showing little sign of a willingness to work until 70, part of the measures introduced by Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt today.

The survey also indicated that ageism is the most commonly quoted reason for discrimination in the workplace.
Some 11% of men and 4% of women said they had been discriminated against for being too old while 11% of men and 10% of women also felt they had been discriminated against as being too young for a job.

Eden Brown Managing Director Ian Wolter said the survey pinpointed the fact that one in four employees experienced discrimination in the workplace, with most attributed to ageism.

There is an enormous problem looming, he said.

The survey also showed that seven out of 10 workers believe a pension plan is one of the most important elements of the benefits package of a job.

A pension plan comes just second in a wish list of job benefits after paid overtime which 73% believe is important, but higher than flexible working hours (54%), private healthcare (47%) or enhanced parental leave (44%), according to the poll carried out by MORI.

Flexible working is more important to women (62%) than men (47%) - evidence of the work life balancing act while private healthcare is more important to men (50%) than women (43%). Other benefits such as profit sharing schemes, dental care, share options and company cars come much lower down the wish list.

The findings show there is still a large gap between employees'' expectations and the reality in terms of both pensions and retirement age, said Wolter. The Government and HR departments will have their work cut out to convey the new realities to their employees.

The Eden Brown survey indicates that the majority of employees still believe it is important to be a member of a final salary scheme rather than the increasingly imposed money purchase pension scheme, now used by a quarter of private company plans.

Only one in five companies now offers employees the opportunity to join a final salary pension scheme, but of men 36% believe a final scheme is very important while 24% believe it to be fairly important. Just 17% say it is not very important, 9% not at all important, while 14% don''t know.

Women have a different view -- 26% believe a final salary pension scheme is very important, 25% believe it is fairly important while 17% believe it is not very important. Some 10% believe it is not at all important while 21% don''t know.