Workplace pension provider Now: Pensions has today (16 January) reached the milestone of 1.5m members.
Six years after launching, the provider has reached 30,000 employers enrolled as the deadline for the last companies to join auto-enrolment approaches.
Introduced in 2012, auto-enrolment has now reached nine million people, with opt-out rates of less than 10 per cent.
The milestones were reached with the enrolment of an employee from Sealclean, a dry-cleaning and laundry service company based in Tonbridge, Kent.
Meanwhile the 30,000th employer was Quale Homes Limited, a housing development company from Fife, Scotland.
Troy Clutterbuck, interim chief executive of Now: Pensions, said the provider has gone from being a complete unknown to one of the largest workplace pension providers in the UK in a very short period of time.
He said: “As a rapidly growing company in a constantly evolving market we’ve had our challenges along the way.
“But, as auto-enrolment matures, we remain committed to ensuring the policy is a success and that it delivers on its promise of providing thousands more people with a better retirement.”
The provider, which is wholly owned by Danish pension scheme ATP, is the third largest master trust in the UK with more than £560m in assets.
Government-backed workplace pension scheme the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) is the biggest provider in the market, having reached 6m members in December.
Last July, Now: Pensions withdrew from the master trust assurance list of providers for auto-enrolment, as it worked to resolve historic issues processing contributions for a small percentage of clients.
In October, the provider appointed Dalriada Trustees to its board, after discussing the matter with The Pensions Regulator (TPR).
According to a spokesperson at the regulator, this was “a positive step that demonstrates a firm commitment to addressing” The Pensions Regulator’s concerns.
In the meantime, the provider will be reapplying to the regulator’s list this year, as the issues have been resolved, Now: Pensions director of policy Adrian Boulding said.
maria.espadinha@ft.com
