ESG | Employers urged to make 'responsible' pensions the default option for staff

More than two-thirds (69%) of employers in the UK now offer a responsibly invested company pension, but less than half have it as their default option (44%), which puts the onus on employees to take action if they want to switch.

However, Scottish Widows’ Responsibly Invested Pensions Report reveals that nearly two thirds (61%) of employees have no idea how to do that, highlighting a growing need for employers and advisers to educate workers on this issue.

The research highlights a growing trend as more employees become interested in how Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ‘friendly’ their company pension scheme is – with 60% of employers reporting an increase of employees seeking to understand how sustainability is embedded in their pensions in the past year.

What are employees’ pension investment priorities?

When asked about the top two investment priorities for their pensions, long-term value growth (63%) and financial risk management (41%) were seen as the two most important objectives among employees.