Retirement adequacy the number one financial wellbeing challenge for employers

Retirement adequacy the number one financial wellbeing challenge for employers

Retirement adequacy is dominating employer financial wellbeing strategies, according to the Reward & Employee Benefits Association's (REBA) latest Financial Wellbeing Research, in partnership with WEALTH at work.

The study found that almost nine in ten employers (87%) either already address, or plan to address, retirement adequacy within their financial wellbeing programmes, making it the most significant financial resilience challenge on employers' agendas.

The findings come as organisations increasingly recognise that helping employees achieve financial security in later life requires more than simply providing access to a workplace pension.

Employers are responding with a broad range of interventions to improve retirement adequacy. Salary sacrifice pension schemes are the most widely adopted approach, with 94% of employers either offering or planning to offer them to help employees boost retirement savings. Financial education plays a central role, with 92% providing or planning to provide education. Alongside this, 93% support, or plan to support, employees in reviewing or adjusting their pension contribution levels.

More personalised support is also becoming increasingly important. The research suggests that the provision of investment advice could double over the next two years, rising from 12% of employers offering it today to 24% planning to offer it in future.

The focus on pension consolidation support is particularly significant. Many employees accumulate multiple pension pots throughout their careers. In fact, there are now around 13 million small pots, worth £1,000 or less, with the number increasing by around one million a year. This is making retirement planning increasingly complex for employees. Employers are therefore providing ways to help employees gain greater visibility and control over their retirement savings. The research found that nearly three-fifths (59%) provide or plan to provide pension consolidation guidance, while 43% offer or intend to offer pension consolidation services.

This focus is likely to increase as pensions dashboards are rolled out. With pension providers required to connect to the dashboards ecosystem by October 2026, dashboards are expected to become available to the public from 2027 onwards. While dashboards will provide a valuable way for individuals to view all their pension savings in one place, many employees may still need support to understand their overall retirement position and decide whether consolidating pension pots is appropriate for them.

Jonathan Watts-Lay, Director, WEALTH at work, comments:

“Retirement adequacy remains a significant challenge because many people are balancing immediate financial pressures with the need to save for the future. It's understandable that retirement can feel like a distant priority, but even small changes to pension saving habits can make a meaningful difference over time. The positive message from this research is that more employers are recognising the value of supporting employees to engage with their pensions and understand the steps they can take to improve their future financial security."

REBA's Financial Wellbeing Research 2026 is based on responses from 186 organisations representing approximately 1.2 million employees across the UK.