Go on, admit it – how much do you really understand about your pension? Do you know how much money you will need when you retire? As it turns out, not many of us are in the know when it comes to saving for our retirement – because we think it’s boring.

In a recent YouGov survey for JLT Benefit Solutions Ltd, which questioned over 2,000 UK adults in full-time employment, it was found that 49 per cent of people find the subject of pensions a real turn-off.

The main cause of this opinion, the research found, is the dry and complex jargon used – 46 per cent said that there is too much complicated language and that employers or pension providers should make more of an effort to speak in plain English.

The survey also found that while just over half of us have a pension, 54 per cent are unsure as to whether we are putting enough aside to see us through retirement.

In addition, those in the 35-44 years-old age group have the highest uptake of pensions (68 per cent), but, worryingly, 60 per cent of them don’t know how much money they will need when they retire.

So, it seems like there is something that needs to be done to make people less sceptical and more knowledgeable about pensions. But what can HR do to help? How can we communicate the importance and value of pensions to all employees, without sending them to sleep with difficult jargon and putting them off long-term saving forever? Perhaps pension training needs to be introduced at work, delivered in an engaging, yet simple way? Or perhaps HR needs to be involved in ensuring more effective and clear communication about the whole issue?

What do you think? Let me know your views.

Thanks!

Lucie Benson