The Government billed their Pensions Green Paper "Simplicity, Security and Choice: Working and saving for retirement", as one of the biggest shake-ups in the UK pension system for years. In the event, it proved something of an anti-climax. In fact, how many people would cite the word secure when talking about their pension prospects? More column inches have been given to this issue than any other management topic over recent months.
In fact the financial position of the UK pension funds has deteriorated significantly since the mid-1990’s. This position poses a real potential danger to some employees. If a company goes bust while its pension fund is in deficit the pension will not be protected. Just how worried are people about their retirement prospects?
Personally, I’d never put all my eggs in one basket. Today’s climate is just too uncertain. I’m keeping all my skills up to date so that I can be flexible as possible. If I need to work longer than I’d expected I’d at least like to enjoy what I’m doing.
In my father’s generation it was a given that if you work hard that you had something to look forward to at the end of it. Increasingly, we’re seeing stories on television of employees who’ve spent years with an employer and then lost everything through no fault of their own.
Senior executives are negotiating clauses into their employment contracts that protect their financial position against pension changes