Of workers with occupational pension cover from their current employment, over six in ten (62%) identified their pension as a Defined Contribution pension, while almost one third (32%) had a Defined Benefit occupational pension from their current job, while 6% had a Hybrid pension. Rates of Defined Benefit occupational pension cover is highest for the older age groups, with 47% of females and 37% of males in the 55 to 69 years age group having a Defined Benefit occupational pension from their current employment. By comparison, of employees aged 25 to 34 years, just 24% of both males and females had a Defined Benefit occupational pension from their current employment, as did just 27% of males and 33% of females in the 35 to 44 years age group. See Figure 4.1 and Table 4.1.
Self-employed persons and employees, who did not have a current occupational pension, were asked if they had an occupational pension from a previous employment. Nearly eight in ten (79%) confirmed they had a Defined Contribution pension, while 18% had a Defined Benefit occupational pension and just 3% were part of a Hybrid pension scheme from a previous employment. See Table 4.1.
| Defined Benefit | Defined Contribution | Hybrid | |
| Employees with an occupational pension from their current employment | 32 | 62 | 6 |
| Employees with occupational pension, only from a previous employment | 18 | 79 | 3 |
Respondents were asked the length of time that they had been part of their occupational pension scheme. One in five (20%) stated that they had been contributing to their occupational pension scheme in their current job for twenty years or more, while 38% had been in their pension scheme in their current employment for less than five years. See Table 4.2.
One third (33%) of Defined Benefit occupational pension holders were part of their pension scheme for 20 years or more, compared with just one in eight (12%) Defined Contribution pension schemes. Similarly, (37%) pension holders with Defined Benefit pension schemes from previous employments, are in it for twenty years or more, while just one in eight (12%) Defined Contribution schemes from previous employments are for this duration. See Table 4.2.
Further analysis of occupational pensions in current contribution by age group shows that over half (51%) of occupational pension holders in current employment who are aged between 55 and 69 years have been in their pension scheme for 20 years or more, while 32% of occupational pension holders aged 45 to 54 years were in their pension scheme for this duration. See Table 4.3.
Over two thirds (67%) of 25 to 34 years with occupational pension in current employment, have been a member of their pension scheme for 5 years or less, while a further one quarter (25%) have been in their pension scheme between 5 and 9 years. See Table 4.3
Over half of employees (52%) without an occupational pension said that their employer did not offer a pension scheme, down one percentage point on the same period in 2021, while 24% had chosen not to join their employer's pension scheme. A further one in six (16%) employees without an occupational pension were not eligible to join their employer’s occupational pension scheme. See Table 4.4.
Of those in part-time employment who do not have occupational pension coverage from their current job, one in five (20%) stated that they are not eligible to join their employer’s pension scheme, compared with less than one in seven (14%) persons in full-time employment. Just 16% of those in part-time employment chose not to join their employer’s pension scheme, while nearly six in ten (57%) reported that their employer did not offer a pension scheme, compared with just half (50%) of those in full-time employment. See Table 4.4.
| X-axis label | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| My employer does not offer a company pension scheme | 50 | 53 |
| I have chosen not to join my employer's pension scheme | 25 | 22 |
| I am not eligible to join my employer's pension scheme | 17 | 15 |
| Not stated | 8 | 9 |
The most common sectors where the employer did not offer a pension scheme for employees were the Construction (65%) and Accommodation and Food Service Activities (60%) NACE sectors. See Table 4.5.
Over seven in ten (72%) of self-employed persons with occupational pension coverage from previous employments have Defined Contribution pensions while one quarter (25%) have Defined Benefit pensions. Just over one fifth (21%) of these Defined Contribution schemes were for twenty years or more, compared with 45% of Defined Benefit schemes of the same duration. See Tables 4.6 and Table 4.7.
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