While having access to a defined benefit fund in the U.K. is increasingly viewed as being akin to gold dust, it seems having a job in the world of DB is not.
The latest research by The Pensions Management Institute — the professional body that supports and develops those who work for U.K. retirement plans or manage money for them — showed that the number of individuals working in DB-focused roles has fallen 4 percentage points to 37% over the past five years. That is significantly less than was predicted by the PMI's members when they were surveyed in 2010: back then, when 41% of those surveyed worked in DB, respondents said they thought the DB world would account for just 17% of individuals working in the retirement markets in three years' time.
“While the DB sector has seen an unsurprising amount of change over the past years, the resulting impact on people's careers is not being felt as quickly as many might have predicted,” said Kevin LeGrand, PMI president, in a statement accompanying the research.