5 ms·

As an aside, it's sometimes really hard to get people to save for their retirement. My employer recently had another round of meetings, trying to encourage peo

As an aside, it's sometimes really hard to get people to save for their retirement. My employer recently had another round of meetings, trying to encourage people not to opt-out and extolling the benefits. At the moment, to put 1000 GBP into a pension pot will lower an employee's take-home here about 350 GBP - the company is doubling it (up to 5% of the salary), the government is giving the tax back, and the company is doing it by salary sacrifice so your take-home isn't so badly affected (tax etc. goes down a bit, offsetting a little the money the employee puts into the pension). They can choose what to put it in; stocks, funds, cash, treasuries. They can move it between providers, it's theirs. The only restriction is they can't have it back until they're at retirement age (not even retired; just at the right age, I think). Even so, many people say they'll not bother, thanks. Some say they rather just save the money up themselves (costing them an incredible 1000 GBP for every 1000 GBP they save - three times the cost!). I know that putting it into a pension has risks and downsides, but given that the pension is basically tripling their money on day one, it seems incredible how many people aren't interested. Makes me fear that if people aren't interested even with (what seems to me) such a good deal, what are people without such sweeteners doing.

jacquesm 11y ago
The pension funds have lost a lot of trust, and that's not the fault of the employees.
georgeott 11y ago
This. Even just 5%, compounded over decades, can turn into A LOT of savings.
icefox 11y ago
At least in the states with the 401k, everywhere i have worked it has been an opt-in system so you had to convince people to do the minimum paperwork to get get "Free money" and think of the future. Only recently have a I started hearing that there can be the opposite and 401k can be opt-out (some law change perhaps?). This was also shown with Organ donation http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/282905.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/282905.php how much better opt-out could be. I am only guessing, but the percentage of people that are in the system even after those that opt-out is probably way higher than here where most has to opt-in. My sad example would be my 24 year old self didn't bother to bring the fully filled out 401k form upstairs to get the free money even though he vaguely understood it was the right thing to do. It was all set to go, I just had to carry the paperwork, but I didn't. Took a job change and another opportunity before I figured it out. In startup land this is the difference between a 1 step funnel and a zero step funnel. Which would your company like to have?
- EliRivers 11y ago
  The UK is in the middle of switching to opt-out. I am pretty sure that some people at my current employer are as apathetic about opting-out as they were about opting-in, so they will drift into having a pension (in which, as I mentioned, their money is going to be somewhere between doubled and tripled on day one). To some, this is the nanny state going too far.

jacquesm 11y ago

The pension funds have lost a lot of trust, and that's not the fault of the employees.

georgeott 11y ago

This. Even just 5%, compounded over decades, can turn into A LOT of savings.

icefox 11y ago

At least in the states with the 401k, everywhere i have worked it has been an opt-in system so you had to convince people to do the minimum paperwork to get get "Free money" and think of the future. Only recently have a I started hearing that there can be the opposite and 401k can be opt-out (some law change perhaps?). This was also shown with Organ donation http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/282905.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/282905.php how much better opt-out could be. I am only guessing, but the percentage of people that are in the system even after those that opt-out is probably way higher than here where most has to opt-in. My sad example would be my 24 year old self didn't bother to bring the fully filled out 401k form upstairs to get the free money even though he vaguely understood it was the right thing to do. It was all set to go, I just had to carry the paperwork, but I didn't. Took a job change and another opportunity before I figured it out. In startup land this is the difference between a 1 step funnel and a zero step funnel. Which would your company like to have?

EliRivers 11y ago
The UK is in the middle of switching to opt-out. I am pretty sure that some people at my current employer are as apathetic about opting-out as they were about opting-in, so they will drift into having a pension (in which, as I mentioned, their money is going to be somewhere between doubled and tripled on day one). To some, this is the nanny state going too far.