Retirement adequacy is now the leading financial wellbeing issue on employers’ agendas, according to new research from the Reward & Employee Benefits Association (REBA), produced in partnership with WEALTH at work.
The study, based on 186 organisations representing around 1.2 million employees, finds that retirement adequacy has become the most prominent financial resilience issue for employers. While workplace pensions remain a core part of the response, businesses are increasingly looking at the support that helps people understand, review and build on their savings.
Salary-sacrifice pension schemes are the most widely adopted intervention, with 94% of employers either offering them or intending to do so. Financial education is also widespread or planned by 92%, while 93% support, or plan to support, employees to review or adjust contribution levels.
There is also a growing emphasis on more personalised guidance. The research suggests that access to investment advice could double over the next two years, from 12% of employers offering it now to 24% planning to offer it in future. Nearly three-fifths (59%) provide or plan to provide pension-consolidation guidance, while 43% offer or intend to offer consolidation services.
“Retirement adequacy remains one of the biggest long-term financial challenges facing employees, and employers increasingly recognise that achieving good outcomes requires more than pension access alone.”
Jonathan Watts-Lay, Director, WEALTH at work
The findings arrive as pension dashboards move closer to public availability. Pension providers are required to connect to the dashboard ecosystem by October 2026, with public access expected from 2027. The report argues that visibility alone will not remove the need for people to make sense of their savings and decide whether consolidation is appropriate for their own circumstances.
WEALTH at work notes that small changes can be meaningful over a working life. Its illustrative model suggests a 25-year-old basic-rate taxpayer earning £20,000 could increase retirement savings by 25% by contributing 1% more each year, assuming their employer matches the contribution.
Methodology: REBA’s Financial Wellbeing Research 2026 is based on responses from 186 UK organisations representing approximately 1.2 million employees.
