- Top pay and benefits concern for organisations relates to pension fund investment
- Executive pay issues are highest on the agenda for company heads
- Four of five top pay and benefit concerns for finance directors are pensions-related
According to a new pay and benefits survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, over 6 in 10 organisations (63%) say their biggest concern is to ensure their pension fund investment arrangements are cost-effective and operationally efficient.
The survey, involving over 600 employers, asked respondents to rate the importance of a range of pension, benefit and pay issues to their organisation. Across all respondents, the top four issues were pensions-related. Preparing for new pension tax limits next year, pension fund asset allocation strategy and pension risk and governance were all voted very important by more than half of respondents (56%, 54% and 52% respectively).
"Pension scheme liabilities have come under intense scrutiny from finance directors over the last couple of years. Because of this we have seen a shift in focus - pensions have moved from the HR agenda to become a finance issue, and this is reflected in the survey responses," says Peter Bowers, Worldwide Partner at Mercer.