The provision of occupational pensions in the 1990s

Assesses the occupational pension scheme, as it has evolved in the UK, from the perspective of the providing employer. Analyses a variety of objectives that employers may have when sponsoring an occupational scheme and details the results of a survey of 66 private sector organizations which establishes which of these objectives are seen as being most significant. The survey indicates that the primary purpose of a pension scheme is the retention of staff but that there are also a umber of significant secondary objectives. Goes on to assess how successful a pension scheme may be in achieving these objectives in the light of recent legal developments. Concludes that their effect has been to raise the cost of pension provision and to undermine the ability of employers to meet their stated objectives through the operation of occupational schemes.