EMEA press release 
26 May 2010 Both European governments and employers are failing to educate their citizens and workforces sufficiently about the long-term value of their pensions, with less than a quarter of European workers saying they are interested in their pension, despite it being the very thing that will support them in retirement, according to Aon Consulting, the leading employee risk and benefits management firm.

This research is part of the Aon Consulting European Employee Benefits Benchmark, a survey of more than 7,500 workers from across Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, 10 of the leading economies in Europe. The Benchmark focuses on the views of workers across Europe on topics such as retirement, employee benefits and other pension-related issues.

Britain, France and the Netherlands are failing to foster a sufficient long-term retirement savings culture despite the financial turmoil brought about by the Credit Crunch, with only 12% of people taking an active interest in their pensions. This compares to 37% in Germany, the highest in Europe, Belgium (34%) and Switzerland (33%).

Despite the importance of financial planning for retirement, and the general trend of less state support in retirement16% of people say they do not have a pension plan in place because they can’t afford to make savings, 11% because they simply never got around to it, and 5% claim they have actively made the decision to rely on state benefits, leaving them at the whim of the government of the day. Perhaps not surprisingly, the trend across Europe sees fewer 18 to 35 years olds with pension savings than higher age brackets.

Oliver Rowlands, head of retirement, EMEA, at Aon Consulting commented: “A lot of people will simply be walking blindly into retirement poverty unless they take more of an active interest in their pensions. Governments and some employers across Europe are looking at ways to reduce their pension’s obligations, so it is imperative that people take more responsibility for their own retirement finances.

“Many employers continue to take the provision of appropriate pensions for their employees very seriously, and are spending a lot of money to provide for the long-term welfare of their workforce. Although workers do generally value employer-sponsored pensions, both defined benefit and defined contribution, they tend not to manage their affairs until close to retirement when it is already too late. Employers need to effectively communicate the value and choices relating to this benefit through open, honest, clear and continuous communication to their employees in order to make it an effective weapon in their arsenal in the war for talent. At the same time they need to ensure they are educating and helping their workforce take the necessary steps to take appropriate and necessary action around retirement savings.”

Ends

For more information please contact:
David Skapinker
PR Manager, Aon
+44 (0)20 7505 7478
David.skapinker@aon.co.uk

Notes to Editors

Survey responses

*Answers may add up to more than 100% as respondents were able to answer more than one option most closely reflected their position

**NB: This option was not given to Swiss respondents due to local legislation requiring mandatory co-sponsored pension arrangements between employers and employees

No. respondents in each country:

About Aon Consulting
Aon Consulting is among the top global human capital consulting firms, with more than 6,300 professionals in 229 offices worldwide. The firm works with organizations to improve business performance and shape the workplace of the future through employee benefits, talent management and rewards strategies and solutions. Aon Consulting was named the best employee benefit consulting firm by the readers of Business Insurance magazine in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. For more information on Aon Consulting, please visit http://www.aon.com/human-capital-consulting.

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Aon Consulting is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.