Marsden Building Society becomes Living Pension Employer

Living Pension is a Living Wage Foundation accreditation for employers who want to support employees to save enough to meet their everyday needs in retirement.

Marsden Building Society has been accredited as a Living Pension Employer. This commitment by the Society raises the bar for pension savings, with colleagues at the Marsden receiving a 10% employer pension contribution - three per cent higher than the Living Pension target. 

The Society is already accredited as a Real Living Wage Employer, ensuring colleagues are paid a higher rate than the Government’s National Living Wage.

This new accreditation further strengthens the organisation’s reputation as one of the region’s leading employers and further builds on its recognition as ‘Employer of the Year’ at the 2025 Be Inspired Business Awards (BIBAs).

Launched in 2023, the Living Pension accreditation builds on the success of the Living Wage by providing an annual savings target for Living Wage Employers who want to help their workers build a pension pot that provides enough income to achieve a basic standard of living in retirement.

The Living Pension builds on auto-enrolment and the minimum contribution level set by the government. Through auto-enrolment, employers must contribute at least three per cent, and workers pay the remaining five per cent.

The Living Pension savings target is 12 per cent of a full time Living Wage worker’s salary, made up of a minimum seven per cent employer contribution – the Marsden’s is already set at 10 per cent.

The Living Pension savings target can also be met as a cash amount of £3,150 a year. The employer contributes at least £1,840 to this cash amount. 

Hayley Duckworth, head of people at Marsden Building Society, said: “The well-being and financial security of our colleagues is incredibly important to us, so we’re extremely proud to receive this accreditation.

"Not only have we met the standards set by the Living Wage Foundation, but we’ve exceeded the maximum employer pension contribution - further strengthening our commitment to helping colleagues enjoy a comfortable and secure retirement.

"Combined with our enhanced employee benefits package and our Real Living Wage status, this achievement reinforces our position as a leading employer in Lancashire.”

Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: “We’re delighted that Marsden Building Society has signed up as a Living Pension Employer, providing stability and security for their workers now and in the future.

"In the last ten years the Living Wage campaign has grown in strength and numbers. Now paid by nearly 16,000 employers, it delivers essential pay rises to almost half a million workers every year.

"The Living Pension builds on this by encouraging employers like the Marsden to do more to help their workers build a pension pot that provides a decent standard of living in retirement.”

Following a feasibility study completed in 2024 by Isio, a pensions and employee benefit consultancy, the Living Wage Foundation have now extended the Living Pension to Defined Benefit (DB) pensions.