Most public sector workers lack knowledge about their pensions

Recent research shows that less than a third of public sector workers in the UK know the value of their final pension. The survey by pension advisory and management specialist Hymans Robertson found that just 29.7% of 1,809 public sector workers polled said they knew the value of their final pension. One-third of those asked said they were unhappy with the information they received on their pension schemes, rising to 42% for those working in the National Health Service (NHS).

The survey also found that four out of five of those polled said they would consider working beyond normal retirement age, with 27% of those in their late 50s and early 60s saying they would think about working until they were 70 to safeguard their retirement income.

More than half (54%) of public sector workers either think that private sector workers have the same working and retirement benefits or are better off. And one in ten public sector workers believe they will be worse off than their private sector peers when they retire.

"It is also worrying to note that 30% of those public sector workers surveyed are not members of any public sector scheme, with the highest proportion of non-members drawn from the least wealthy - 46% of respondents with household assets of less than £20,000 said they were not a member of a public sector scheme."

John Wright, head of public sector consulting at Hymans Robertson, called for better communication by public sector employers of the benefits they provide. "Employers should consider greater engagement with trade unions and other representative bodies in developing workshops and focus groups of workers," he said. "Members need not only to have a clearer picture of their totals reward in terms of benefits they receive, but they must be encouraged to value their benefits."

See more here: http://www.hymans.co.uk/media/pressreleases/Pages/PSResearch.aspx

Read the research report here: http://www.hymans.co.uk/knowledgecentre/InvestmentSurveys/Documents/Public%20sector%20survey%20final.pdf