Employee Relations: An International Journal

David Blake

2000 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450010332514

The UK is one of the few countries in Europe that is not facing a serious pensions crisis. The reasons for this are straightforward: state pensions are among the lowest in Europe, the UK has a long-standing funded private pension sector, its population is ageing less rapidly than elsewhere in Europe and its governments have, since the beginning of the 1980s, taken measures to prevent a pension crisis developing. This article reviews the policies that have been implemented over the last two decades. It describes and analyses the defects in the Thatcher-Major governments' reforms that brought us to the current system, examines and assesses the reforms of the Blair government, and then identifies the problems that remain unresolved and how they might be addressed. Concludes with an examination of the implications of these reforms for the future of occupational pension schemes.

Stephen Taylor

2000 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450010332523

This article explores the relationship, in the contemporary UK context, between employee retention and the provision by employers of occupational pension schemes. Several sources of literature are drawn on to develop cases for and against the proposition that pensions play a discernible role in reducing employee turnover. Original research carried out by the author is then presented which suggests that the retention effect is limited in terms of both its potency and its extent. A particular finding is the varying importance of pension schemes in terms of the retention of different staff groups.

Wendy Loretto; Phil White; Colin Duncan

2000 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450010332532

Against a background of partial, and often contradictory, information, this article explores the attitudes of over 1,000 employees in one firm in the financial services sector towards various issues related to retirement and pensions. The respondents regarded the existence of occupational pension schemes as having a major influence on their job searches. Among the various reasons for being members of the employer's scheme, the principal ones were associated with the perceived qualities of the scheme itself, the zero charge for employees, and opportunities for planning for the future. Levels of ignorance about certain features of the scheme were discernible, and differentiated patterns of response among groupings of employees suggested that employees bring to pensions matters diverse expectations and awareness. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for employee recruitment, motivation and retention.

Nicholas Terry; Phil White

2000 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450010332541

Employers offer pension plans for two main reasons: paternalism and skills market competitiveness. Recent changes in legislation and business practice have prompted the scrutiny of the underpinnings for such a management tradition. Identifies several relevant factors that derive from: field work undertaken by the authors; the Pensions Act 1995; and recent changes to corporations tax. It is argued that what has emerged is a sharply focused trade-off, relating to the asset and liability characteristics of employer-based pension schemes. This questions the sustainability of all types of pension plans, and thereby has a place in strategies affecting financial planning and business development.

Richard Nobles

2000 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450010332550

This article uses the litigation in National Grid v. Laws to demonstrate two aspects of the law surrounding occupational pension schemes: the wide range of interpretations that are possible when construing pension scheme rules; and the enormous difficulties faced by scheme members when seeking to assert an interpretation of those rules that runs counter to an employer's major commercial interests.

Deborah R. Cooper

2000 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450010332569

The article compares the major features of pension provision in the UK and in France. It considers why the UK population appears to be at best indifferent to their system of provision, when overall it is financially secure, whereas the French system, which is faced with increasing costs, receives wide support. The significant differences in provision, apart from the method of funding, are in the level of coverage and the extent of member involvement. The article concludes that, if the UK system took some steps in this direction, perhaps employees would begin to perceive pension provision as the valuable benefit it is, and more employers would be encouraged to introduce, or retain, defined benefit occupational pension schemes.