In 2015, following the introduction of new pension freedoms, we started a longitudinal study to explore how people make their retirement decisions. Our findings were published as part of our New Choices, Big Decisions series of reports.

Building on this research, early findings from our latest New Choices, Big Decisions study have revealed new and evolving trends into pension savers’ retirement planning and spending habits. The full report will be released in the New Year.

Being aware of these trends can help you build a greater understanding of your employees’ financial needs and support their retirement planning – leading to better outcomes for both you and them. We’ve highlighted just a couple of the key takeaways from the research below:

• People are still not factoring inflation into their retirement planning, with many unaware of how recent inflation rises may be eating away at their cash savings.
• There’s a concerning lack of attention given to the 1.1 million pension pots already in drawdown, with these savers given little to no communication about whether their investment choices and plans made 7 years ago are still valid today.

These findings have enabled us to get to the heart of the key challenges many face when planning for their retirement – including complexities around choosing the right retirement options.

As shown, there’s a clear need among your workers for guidance to help them make more informed choices around their retirement planning. And as an employer, you play an important role in supporting your employees on their retirement journey. This includes everything from encouraging staff to join the company’s workplace pension scheme to sharing expert advice to get them on track to meet their retirement goals.

To support your retirement planning conversations with workers, we’re using the findings from our latest research to improve our overall retirement and digital propositions – including the launch of our retirement planner.

Accessible through a member’s account and on The People’s Pension website, the retirement planner gives your workers a projection of their retirement income. This helps them understand how much their pension could be worth in retirement, what their expected annual retirement income could be, and calculate if they’re saving enough.

Sharing this useful resource with your employees can encourage them to take action with their retirement planning – such as engaging more with their pension and increasing contributions to their pot. It can also show workers that you have their best interests at heart, giving them a more positive view of your business. This in turn can help to retain employees, attract new talent and encourage increased productivity.

We’ll continue to update our retirement planner and existing resources to bring further benefits to you and provide more guided support to your employees on their retirement journey.

In the meantime, our dedicated support team is on hand to help with your company’s pension and retirement planning needs. You can get in touch with them using our contact webpage or call 01293 205556.