How business owners could help employees build pension confidence

The workplace pension employers provide is a valuable employee benefit. Yet, research suggests many workers lack confidence when dealing with their pension. This can provide an opportunity for business owners to offer support and boost staff morale. 

According to Employee Benefits (15 June 2026), 39% of employees lack confidence when making pension decisions. In addition, 42% said they would be more engaged with their pension if they had a better understanding of it, and 36% would like greater guidance when making decisions. 

As an employer, you have a legal responsibility to enrol eligible staff into a workplace pension scheme and make minimum pension contributions on their behalf. While your obligations don’t extend to educating your employees about their pension, there could be benefits to doing so. 

Pension education could boost employee morale and business productivity

There are several reasons why educating your employees about their pension could be beneficial to your business.

First, some employees may not understand that you’re contributing to their pension as well. Helping employees fully understand the benefits they receive beyond their salary could be valuable. This is particularly true if you’ve decided to contribute more than the minimum pension contributions.

Employees being aware of how you’re supporting their retirement goals could improve morale and retention.

In addition, a lack of confidence around pensions and retirement could lead to financial stress, which could harm productivity. 

Indeed, a survey from People Management (27 November 2025) found that 92% of workers have experienced financial stress in the last year, and 89% report that it has a direct impact on their work. So, employers could benefit from providing financial education to their workforce. 

4 ways you could improve pension confidence in your business

Make pensions part of onboarding and your employee handbook

A simple step is to make sure pensions are a key part of your onboarding process. When you’re discussing their contract with new hires, don’t forget to include the pension as part of the remuneration package.

To keep it in the minds of employees, be sure to include pensions in your handbook, such as stating what provider you use and who they can approach if they have questions. Don’t forget to highlight the value of the contribution you make to employee pensions. 

Make pensions a regular topic of conversation

Finances can seem complicated and scary to some people. As a result, ongoing communication about pensions could be valuable for employees. 

Whether you share information in monthly updates or host workshops or seminars, there are plenty of topics that your employees could benefit from learning more about. For example, you might cover investment risk and the role it plays in choosing a pension fund, or how to understand what income a pension will provide. 

Be clear when discussing pensions 

One of the reasons why some employees might be reluctant to engage with their pension is that it often involves jargon. Be sure to avoid industry terms or provide clear explanations if you’re using phrases like “Annual Allowance”, “tax relief”, or “defined contribution pension”.

Work with an outside provider

If you want to support your employees, you don’t need to deliver financial education yourself. Working with an outside provider could help your workers access high-quality insights and advice.

As financial advisers, we may be able to work with you to craft regular or one-off sessions that improve your employees’ knowledge of their pension or other financial areas. 

Get in touch

If you want to talk about pensions, please contact us. Whether you want to understand your own pension or provide support to your employees, we can help. 

Please note:

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at individuals only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.

A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. 

The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates, and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts. 

Workplace pensions are regulated by The Pensions Regulator.