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Employers voice support for pension auto-enrolment
More than half of employers have given their backing to Government plans for automatic enrolment into a workplace pension scheme, a new report has revealed.
According to a study by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), 56% of employers and 64% of staff support the proposals, which will come into effect from 2012.
The report also found that some seven million Britons are not saving enough for their retirement. However, it is hoped that automatically enrolling eligible workers into a pension scheme will encourage more people to set aside funds for their future.
While 94% of employers contributing at least 3% to a pension scheme said they will maintain or increase levels for existing members, 81% said they plan to offer existing contribution levels or higher to non-members and new employees.
‘With only around half of employees saving into a workplace pension, our planned reforms are needed to prevent millions of Britons facing a penny-pinching retirement,’ said DWP minister Lord Freud.
‘It is encouraging that, despite the recession, the majority of employers are still in favour of pension savings. We will work with business and the industry to make automatic enrolment work, so we can give millions more people the chance to save, and an independent review team is currently looking at how we get the details right’.