The proportion of workers with an occupational pension from their current employment who identified their pension as a Defined Contribution pension was 63.9%, and 33.8% of workers had a Defined Benefit occupational pension from their current job, while 2.3% had a Hybrid pension. Rates of Defined Benefit occupational pension cover is highest for the older age groups, with 48.2% of females and 44.3% of males in the 55 to 69 years age group having a Defined Benefit occupational pension in their current employment. By comparison, of employees aged 25 to 34 years, just 26.8% of males and 31.5% of females had a Defined Benefit occupational pension from their current employment, as did just 27% of males and 36.3% of females in the 35 to 44 years age group. See Table 4.1 and Figure 4.1.
Self-employed persons, who did not have an occupational pension, were asked if they had an occupational pension from a previous employment. Over seven in ten (71.3%) confirmed they had a Defined Contribution pension, while 26.1% had a Defined Benefit occupational pension and 2.7% were part of a Hybrid pension scheme from a previous employment. See Table 4.1 and Figure 4.1.
| Defined Benefit | Defined Contribution | Hybrid | |
| Employees with an occupational pension from their current employment | 33.8 | 63.9 | 2.3 |
| Employees with occupational pension only from a previous employment | 21.2 | 77.6 | 1.2 |
| Self employed persons with occupational pension from a previous employment | 26.1 | 71.3 | 2.7 |
Over half of employees (52.2%) without an occupational pension said that their employer did not offer a pension scheme, while 24.4% had chosen not to join their employer's pension scheme. A further 12.5% of employees without an occupational pension were not eligible to join their employer’s occupational pension scheme. See Table 4.2.
Of part-time workers who do not have occupational pension coverage from their current job, 18.7% stated that they are not eligible to join their employer’s pension scheme, compared with 9.6% of full-time workers. Just 13% of part-time workers chose not to join their employer’s pension scheme, while 54.3% reported that their employer did not offer a pension scheme, compared with just over half (51.2%) of full-time workers. See Table 4.2 and Figure 4.2.
| X-axis label | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| My employer does not offer a company pension scheme | 50.8 | 53.5 |
| I have chosen not to join my employer's pension scheme | 29.2 | 20 |
| I am not eligible to join my employer's pension scheme | 9.8 | 15 |
| Not stated | 10.2 | 11.5 |
The most common sectors where the employer did not offer a pension scheme for employees were the Skilled Trades (65.7%) and Elementary (59.9%) occupational groups. See Table 4.3.
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