Rhiannon Barnsley comments on the Automatic Enrolment Bill achieving Royal Assent
The Automatic Enrolment Bill, which seeks two extensions to AE – to remove the lower earnings limit for contributions based on qualifying earnings and reduce the age to be automatically enrolled – was at last granted Royal Assent on Thursday 19 September.
Associate Rhiannon Barnsley commented that while this is a step forward for young people, “many part-time workers (which many young workers may be) and those with multiple jobs still won’t be able to benefit.”
She further added that the bill “also does nothing to address the current under-saving by many employees. The auto-enrolment minimum contributions will not provide the retirement lifestyle many look forward to.”
Rhiannon went on to acknowledge that “it is a difficult balance. In the current climate it is understandable why many employees choose to opt out of pension saving, instead wishing to use the money now. However, research shows that most people are not saving enough for retirement and raising minimum contributions is one way to solve that, but it will only work if savers are prepared to contribute more so any raising of minimum contributions should be carefully phased in.”
Read Rhiannon’s comments in PensionsAge, here.
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