Only a quarter of employees are aware of ESG options for workplace pensions

Only a quarter (23%) of employees are aware of environmental, social and governance (ESG) options when it comes to their workplace pension, according to research from employee benefits, wellness and financial education provider Secondsight.

In the report, Workplace pensions and ESG, 60% admitted they did not know what ESG investing was; however, after being given an explanation, 42% said they would be happy to be auto-enrolled into an ESG fund.

Two-thirds (67%) of 20 to 30-year-olds and 73% of 31 to 40-year-olds said they would be willing to pay more to be in an ESG-focused default fund, compared with 36% of 51 to 60-year-olds and 29% of those aged 61 and above.

Matthew Mitten, partner at Secondsight, said: “Our research highlights that younger people are more interested in sustainability than the older generation, and would support investing sustainably and having an ESG fund as their default pension fund option.”

Read the full article on Employee Benefits here.