Auto-enrolment – good news for employees of smaller firms

 

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)1 has been reviewing the pensions landscape and drawn some interesting conclusions about how auto-enrolment has changed the number of people saving into a pension. The scheme has been hailed an “extraordinary success“, by Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, Guy Opperman.

The IFS estimates that before the advent of auto-enrolment, the number of small business employees saving for retirement was fewer than one in six; that figure has subsequently increased to seven in ten. With over a quarter of UK private sector employees working for a small business, this increase in participation really shows how the scheme is improving the pension prospects for millions.

1IFS, Mar 2019

A pension is a long-term investment. The fund value may fluctuate and can go down. Your eventual income may depend on the size of the fund at retirement, future interest rates and tax legislation.