'Not enough paid into pensions'

More than half of employers at small companies are worried their staff are not paying enough into their pension scheme, according to a survey.

Nearly a fifth of people who work for small and medium-sized employers (SMEs) do not contribute to a pension at all, according to Barclays Financial Planning.

Just one in four firms said they had full pension scheme take-up, while 37% admitted that less than one in four members of staff belonged to their scheme.

This was despite the fact that nearly a third of companies contributed more than 6% of their workers' salary to their pension, with firms paying in an average of 4.82%.

The group, which questioned 200 small companies, found that nearly half of them provided regular access to financial advice for their staff, and 36% said they regularly updated them on changes to the pension scheme.

Stephen Ingledew, commercial director at Barclays Financial Planning, said: "The research indicates despite the pension gap being on everyone's radar, it is some way off being plugged.

"The fact that half of SMEs are taking steps to encourage their staff to do more is promising, but with two fifths of employees preferring a higher pay packet to a better pension deal, there is a danger pension provision could be overlooked in favour of more disposable income in the short term."

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