Contributions to personal pensions soared over the most recent full tax year, aided in part by further staging of auto-enrolment.
Personal pension contributions rose by 20 per cent to a total of over £24bn from 6 April 2015 to 5 April 2016, while overall participation over the same period was up by 7 per cent to almost 13 million individuals, according to data from HM Revenue & Customs.
The number of members in employer sponsored schemes increased to 7,790 while the number of members in non-employer sponsored schemes rose to 4,970.
Employer contributions totaled £12.7m while non-employer contributions trailed slightly at £11.4m.
Alistair McQueen, head of savings and retirement at Aviva, attributed a large part of this boost to personal pensions to the progression of auto-enrolment schemes.
He said: “Automatic enrolment has been the driver behind much of this increase with employer contributions significantly rising by 30 per cent over the year to reach £14bn in 2015 to 2016.
“This is to be celebrated, but there is no room for complacency. The UK still needs more people to save more for their retirement.
"The government’s review of automatic enrolment in 2017 must push for continued success – by encouraging even greater participation and even greater saving.”
julia.faurschou@ft.com
