UK businesses have been congratulated for doubling their pension contributions in the last seven years, but warned about the impact on bottom lines.
In a plea to ministers delivered on Monday, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Director General, Digby Jones, claimed that the rise in employer contributions is having a detrimental effect on company profits, while damaging investment and jobs.
CBI calculations show that employer contributions rose from £18 billion in 1997 to £37 billion in 2003.
The group believes this demonstrates employer commitment to the pension crisis, even though circumstances have combined to undermine final salary provision.
The comments come ahead of the long-awaited report on pensions by former CBI boss Adair Turner, due out on Tuesday.
"The rise in employer contributions demonstrates the scale of the problem that firms have been responding to. There have been some poor examples but generally speaking companies have been miscast as the villains of the pensions piece," said Jones.
"Firms must do more but so must individuals and government. It may be politically difficult but it's a government responsibility to show leadership and so far this has been insufficiently forthcoming."
The Turner report is expected make grim reading for the savings industry. Analysts believe it will contain worrying predictions of pensioner poverty brought on by increased life expectancy coupled with inadequate private savings.
One potential way of easing the crisis being considered by ministers is offering a £30,000 lump sum as an incentive to carry on working until the age of 70.
