South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) has achieved Living Pension accreditation to add to their existing Living Wage and Living Hours accreditations. These accreditations ensure security and stability for their staff now and in the future.
By adopting the Living Pension standard, SOSE is setting a higher benchmark for pension contributions, ensuring employees can meet their basic needs in retirement.
The Living Pension scheme offers a practical solution for employers to help workers build sufficient retirement savings. Currently, 4 in 5 UK workers – around 16 million people – saving into Defined Contribution schemes are not saving enough to cover basic living costs in retirement. Among low-paid workers, the situation is even worse, with only 1 in 20 saving enough to cover basic living costs later in life.
Living Pension Employers with Defined Contribution schemes commit to a voluntary savings target, either:
- Cash target: £3150 annually (with employer contributing at least £1840)
- Percentage target: 12% of salary (with employer contributing a minimum of 7%)
In May 2025, the Living Wage Foundation launched the Defined Benefit strand of Living Pension and SOSE are accredited against this standard.
Under their Living Wage commitment, everyone employed at SOSE receives a real Living Wage which is currently higher than the UK Government’s statutory minimum, while their Living Hours commitment means staff at SOSE are guaranteed secure working hours.
SOSE won the ‘Outstanding Leadership’ award at last year’s Scottish Living Wage Awards, recognising the organisation’s work to champion Fair Work across the South of Scotland and drive positive change for workers and employers.
Jane Morrison-Ross, Chief Executive of SOSE explained:
“Advocating for Fair Work is one of our priorities and achieving the Living Pensions Accreditation is another important step in our goal to lead by example and support an economy built on sustainable jobs, skills and progression.
“Fair Work is the right thing to do for people and essential for building a stronger, more resilient South of Scotland economy. When employers invest in their employees, it boosts productivity, strengthens communities and helps attract the talent and investment our region needs to grow.
“We’re proud to champion employers who put their people at the heart of their success – and we will keep working with partners to make the South of Scotland a region where fair work is the way we work.”
Seonaid Mann, SOSE’s Equality and Fair Work Lead, SOSE added:
“A Living Pension is about long-term financial security as well as fair pay. It means colleagues can be confident that today’s work is building tomorrow’s stability for both them and their families.
“Alongside our real Living Wage and Living Hours accreditations, this recognition shows SOSE is putting Fair Work into practice – and we hope more employers across the South of Scotland will join us as we work together to build a coherent model for fair, secure and sustainable employment for all.”
Lynn Anderson, Living Wage Scotland Manager said:
“We are delighted that SOSE has now achieved Living Wage, Living Hours and Living Pension accreditations. They join a significant and growing movement of employers across Scotland who aim to protect workers against low wages and insecure work.
“Employers recognise that security and stability can help create a happier, healthier and more motivated workforce and we hope to see many more employers join SOSE in going further than the minimum.”
below the real Living Wage has increased in recent years and now, over 1 in 10 jobs in Scotland pay less than the real Living Wage which equates to 288,000 jobs.
The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate calculated according to the costs of living. Employers choose to pay the real Living Wage on a voluntary basis, recognising the value of their workers and ensuring that a hard day’s work receives a fair day’s pay.
Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered pay rises to over 72,000 people in Scotland and put over £680 million extra into the pockets of low paid Scottish workers.
Research by the Living Wage Foundation shows that over 9% of workers in Scotland are in insecure work. The Living Hours standard was created to ensure that people have predictable working patterns and income, enabling them to better plan their lives.