Panic over the viability of retirement plans is ebbing among British workers, as 9 percent fewer members asked what their payouts at retirement would be in the quarter ended June 30 than in the previous quarter, according to Aon Consulting’s quarterly pension Admin Tracker.
Also, 17 percent fewer requests were made about the current value of pension accounts than in the previous quarter.
The data are from 35 defined-benefit and defined-contribution plans in the U.K. representing about 340,000 members.
The data seem to indicate that confidence in retirement plans is returning as a result of stock market rallies, which would “suggest a lack of understanding of the long-term nature of pension saving,” Colin Hamilton, commercial director at Aon Consulting, said in a news release.
“Effective member communication and education has an essential role to play in explaining the long-term nature of saving for retirement and ensuring that members are well informed during periods of economic volatility so that they do not rely on equity markets to solely dictate their concerns.”
Aon also found that defined-contribution plan participants continued to stay the course on investments in the second quarter, as just 0.01 percent of participants made investment changes—the same rate as the previous quarter.
Filed by Drew Carter of Pensions & Investments, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.
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