21 September 2010 – Publication of DWP research report 687: Employers’ Pension Provision Survey 2009
Today, the Department for Work and Pensions publishes the findings of research exploring the extent and nature of pension provision among private sector employers in Great Britain in 2009. This was the eighth survey in the series.
The key findings of the report were as follows:
- In 2009, pension-providing organisations employed just over four-fifths (82 per cent) of all employees in the private sector.
- The percentage of all private sector firms making some form of pension provision appeared to decline between 2007 and 2009, from 41 per cent to 28 per cent.
- Most of the decline in overall provision was due to a reduction in the provision of contributions to employees’ private personal pensions. If one excludes employers’ contributions to employees’ personal pensions the findings show a decrease in employer provision from 33 per cent to 27 per cent.
- Workplace-based stakeholder pension schemes continued to be the most common form of provision, provided by 23 per cent of all firms. Five per cent provided group personal pensions, five per cent made contributions to employees’ personal pensions and two per cent provided occupational schemes. Less than one per cent made contributions to employees’ private stakeholder pensions.
- Just over one quarter (27 per cent) of private sector employees were active members of work-based pension schemes with 13 per cent of all private sector employees belonging to occupational schemes.Only nine per cent of non-providers expected to introduce pension provision in the next five years. The most commonly cited reasons for non-provision were: the organisation was too small (36 per cent of non-providers), pension provision was too costly (15 per cent of non-providers) and staff did not want it (13 per cent of non-providers).
Notes to Editors:
- DWP Research Report No. 687 – “Employers’ Pension Provision Survey 2009” is published today, 21 September by DWP.
- The research was conducted on behalf of DWP by TNS-BMRB. Data analysis and reporting was undertaken by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR).
- The research and summary are available free on the DWP website http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrs-index.asp
- The report is based on telephone interviews with 2,519 private sector employers.
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