A survey by the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) has highlighted the widening gap between employees being offered an occupational pension scheme and those who are not.
Over 336 companies employing 1.8 million people responded to the survey, which was conducted in August and September 2002. Employers ranged from those with under 10 employees to those employing more than 50,000.
Employers stressed that their three main priorities are: increased incentives to run schemes, simpler tax rules and simpler administration. Key findings of the survey include: 32% of employers are presently reviewing their occupational pension arrangements. Less than 1% of employees based at firms in the survey have joined stakeholder schemes. Employers see increased tax incentives as the most important priority, encouraging employers to sponsor occupational arrangements, 42% of employers are trying to reduce spending on pensions and 51% are looking to reduce forward pension liabilities.