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Pension schemes still ignored by operators
LESS THAN A quarter of haulage bosses may be paying into pensions either for themselves or for their companies, according to a survey conducted by Clifton Asset Finance.
The survey asked more than 1,000 business owners across many sectors, but haulage was the second largest group of respondents.
More than three-quarters of haulage bosses said retirement was still a distant prospect, and while less than a third ran a company pension scheme, less than 25% were regularly contributing to it.
Fewer than 1% had taken advantage of Enterprise Finance Guarantees, although an increasing proportion saw this as proof that the government took small and medium-sized businesses' liquidity needs seriously.
The company has been tracking proposed retirement ages in the selected group for a year, and 59% of respondents have said their retirement age is now further away than it was when they were first asked.
While 80% said they had not reduced staffing numbers in the last quarterly survey, this has now dropped 10 56%. But 13% of those who had not yet had to lay staff off anticipate cuts in the next six months: 9% who have already made lay-offs anticipate more: and just 20% say they have now made the necessary cuts.