Ethical pensions are not a particularly new idea but they are increasing in popularity. A recent survey has shown that a large amount of employees and employers for that matter felt that there pension should operate within an ethical framework. The government have been made aware of this increasing popularity, and so will require that companies disclose more information about their social and environmental considerations in relation to their pension schemes.

Some companies fear that this relatively new emphasis on ethics will eat into their profits; however this does not have to be the case. In fact this new emphasis on ethics can be beneficial to the company in a number of ways. For example, many potential employees may be drawn to a company that takes a strong view on ethical pensions which will help them to get the best employee for the job.

In addition to this consumers are becoming increasingly ethical. If a company is renowned for its good ethical viewpoints than it may be able to draw more customers who value these ideas.

Employees of a company that operates using an ethical pension scheme will still be able to get a decent pension even though there are concerns that it may be considerably less. The basic principles of an occupational pension scheme will still be applied to an ethical pension scheme, so pensions will obviously vary from person to person and can be based on what salary you were paid and what job role you held. But despite promises of a decent pension, the majority of people would not consider an ethical pension if it would effect the mount of money they received.

Even though the majority of people would not consider changing their pension scheme if it meant them receiving less money, more and more people feel passionate about environmental and social issues. The number of people who are opting for these pensions are rising, as an increasing amount of people no longer want to be associated with, or have shares in companies that are known for social issues. These social issues include having shares in companies that promote firearms and gambling, and consequently having an ethical pension can help remove some of the power that these companies have.