Report: UK Employers Need to Contribute More to Workers' Pension Plans

December 13, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A government-sponsored report has advised UK employers to pay 10% to 15% of staff pay into pension plans.

In releasing the report, Peter Davis, chairman of the Employer Task Force on Pensions, noted: “We are in the last chance saloon for voluntarism. Unless we can reverse the current decline in adequate employer-led pension, the government may be forced to look at more drastic solutions.”

The report called on UK employers to recognize their responsibility to workers’ pensions, according to Bloomberg. It calls on them to aim for combined contribution levels of 10% to 15% per year, with employers providing two-thirds of the funds. It also states that the financial services industry should join with the government to review the annuities market and should also aim to provide better service for small businesses, according to Bloomberg.

A report released in October highlighted the problem, Bloomberg reported, stating that 9 million of the UK’s approximately 30 million workers aren’t saving enough for retirement. The report, from Merrill Lynch & Co. of Europe, indicated that Britons will have to postpone retirement to the age of 70 unless they want to face a $103 billion shortfall by 2050.

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