Government launches review of automatic enrolment

The Government announced before Christmas that it was undergoing a review of automatic enrolment to encourage as many people as possible to put funds into a workplace pension for the future.

The review will assess the overall success of auto-enrolment to date, whilst attempting to discover new ways of developing the ground-breaking pensions policy further for UK workers.

At the time of writing, some 7 million people have been enrolled into a pension scheme by almost 300,000 employers. By 2018, that figure is expected to increase to around 10 million workers, resulting in up to £17bn a year in workplace pension saving by 2019/20.

Nevertheless, the Government wants to give even more people the opportunity to have better financial security in their retirement years.

Damian Green, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said: “Pensioner poverty has more than halved since the late 1980s, which is a record to be proud of. We need to secure this legacy for future generations.

“After years of people not saving enough, automatic enrolment is helping millions of people, many of whom are low earners, benefit from a workplace pension.

“This will continue to boost retirement pots and help safeguard people’s standard of living in later life.

“This Government is committed to building a country which works for everyone, not just the privileged few, and now is the right time to consider who else – beyond the 10 million already set to benefit – could gain from automatic enrolment.”

The Government has also confirmed that the auto-enrolment trigger threshold will remain at £10,000 for the 2017/18 tax year. Any eligible workers who earn this amount – or greater – will continue to be automatically enrolled by their employers.

TaxAssist Accountants works with Wren Sterling, a national firm of independent financial advisers, who can discuss a pension scheme with you. Please contact us today on 0800 0523 555 or drop us a line using our online enquiry form and our accountants will be able to provide you with more details.

Date published 13 Jan 2017 | Last updated 20 Sep 2022