Pension monitoring tool on offer from AWD

The state pension forecast gives employees, in today's money values, an estimate of the basic and additional state pension they may get based on their national insurance contributions so far, as well as a projection of these benefits at state pension age, according to the employee benefits specialist.

David Smyth, director of AWD Chase de Vere Consulting, said the employer's pension forecast would people to better assess whether their savings were on track, or whether they needed to save more to achieve their income expectations in retirement.

He said: "All too often people put pension planning on the back burner, no more so than in today's difficult economic climate, yet it is essential that people plan ahead. 

"A number of our competitors are delivering manual paper-based pension forecasts but this does not deliver the level of access needed by employees."

Keith Churchouse, director of Guildford-based IFA Churchouse Financial Planning, said he was surprised at the level of inertia that existed among clients in reviewing their pensions and investments and due to the current poor performance of funds some were currently "burying their head in the sand".

Mr Churchouse said his firm was currently looking at ways it could improve client access to information.

He said: "When we start to come out of the recession we will actually see people using online facilities an awful lot more to monitor what goes on."