Tackling the pensions confidence gap
Do employees understand their workplace pensions?
According to a survey for Cushon’s Workplace Pensions Report 2026, 96% of employers think their people do.
But the answers from employees – 2,000 individuals enrolled in a workplace pension, workplace savings scheme, or both – tell a very different story.
Four in ten (39%) aren't confident they're making the right decisions about their pension. Worse, 38% are yet to take any action on their pension at all, including setting a retirement age or reviewing their contribution levels. Gaps like these are simply too large to ignore.
Seeing as pensions are increasingly important for people when considering whether to switch jobs, I think addressing this understanding gap should be high on both employers' and workplace pension providers' agendas.
The problem isn’t lack of interest, it’s complexity
Another eye-catching finding of the survey is that, excluding salaries, workplace pensions are the second most important employee benefit after time off and flexibility.
Pensions are also a deciding factor for jobseekers. Nearly eight in 10 (77%) of candidates consider the pension scheme on offer important. And 68% think a weaker pension than the one they currently have makes a new job less attractive, with 61% being less inclined to take it as a result.
But while these findings leave no doubt that employees value their workplace pension, this isn't the same as understanding how it works and feeling empowered to make the right decisions. And that's where the challenge lies.
What we're up against, when it comes to addressing poor workplace pension engagement, isn't apathy or disinterest, but complexity.
Many employees find navigating their pension to be a complicated and fragmented experience. How can we expect them to engage, when they simply don't feel equipped to do so?
Bridging the confidence gap
If we accept that poor engagement is a confidence issue, it follows that it's not something we can fix with minor tweaks to the way we communicate. A glossier welcome pack or a more comprehensive annual statement isn’t the answer.
The solution needn’t be mysterious or complicated. The employees we surveyed for our research were very clear about what they need from a workplace pension, and these are both understandable and achievable: easier access, more clarity, and the right support at the right time.
We found 46% of respondents want a mobile app so they can check and manage their pension at any time, just as they're used to doing in other areas of their finances, like current accounts, savings, credit cards and loans.
More significantly, employees value pension consolidation. Three-quarters (74%) would like their pension to follow them when they change jobs, yet only 36% know how to bring all their pensions together in one pot.
On clarity, our research shows there's much more that needs to be done. Case in point, despite 89% of employers in our sample offering salary sacrifice contributions, only 41% of employees think this is available at their company – a sure sign that the message is getting lost in translation.
But, even with a better understanding of their pension options, employees are still more likely to engage if they have a trusted point of contact they can turn to.
Employers and workplace pension providers can (and must) do better on employee engagement
Pensions matter to employees. This is obvious from the impact they can have on recruitment and retention. The issue is that employees usually find pensions overly difficult to manage, while employers underestimate the size of the problem.
For pension engagement to go up, we must address this gap between perception and reality.
Every unclear procedure, unanswered question, and underused capability sends the message that employees could do better elsewhere. If we want to prevent this and ensure they fully appreciate the value of what's on offer, the onus is on us to spell it out.
Download Cushon’s Workplace Pensions Report 2026: From Compliance to Competitive Advantage.
Supplied by REBA Associate Member, Cushon
Cushon is a workplace pensions and savings provider with an award-winning proposition.
