The Mercer UK Defined Contribution Pension and Workplace Savings Survey, conducted in late 2011, shows significant shifts occurring for defined contribution (DC) pension schemes in the UK. Mercer conducted two surveys. The first includes data from more than 300 companies covering 19 sectors, a million-plus employees and over £14 billion in assets under management. The second survey gives the employee perspective, reflecting responses from some 1,500 UK employees across a range of income, regions, roles and ages.

“Our research has shown us that pension schemes remain an integral part of a benefits package in the UK, and are most employees’ preferred method of saving for retirement,” says Paul Macro, UK DC Retirement Consulting Leader at Mercer. “However, continued economic uncertainty, among other factors, is negatively affecting the level of contributions to UK DC plans, raising concerns about the adequacy of the retirement income that will be provided.”

“Considerable regulatory pressures are also affecting UK pensions,” he adds. “A new requirement to auto-enroll all employees in a company pension scheme is just around the corner and will have a huge impact across organizations.”

Learn more about these shifts in UK DC plans.

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For more information about this research, visit http://uk.mercer.com/articles/mercer-defined-contribution-and-workplace-saving-survey.