More than three quarters of UK employees were members of a workplace pension scheme in 2018, up 29 percentage points since auto-enrolment was launched.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics out in April, 76 per cent of employees were signed up to a workplace pension in 2018, up from 73 per cent in 2017 and 47 per cent in 2012 when auto-enrolment was first introduced.
The data also showed an equalling out of defined contribution and defined benefit schemes. In 2018, 34 per cent of all employees with a workplace pension were in a DC scheme, and 36 per cent were in a DB scheme.
Neil Hugh, head of customer and workplace proposition and strategy at Standard Life, said: "These latest figures show how auto enrolment is continuing to have a really positive and growing impact, helping more employees to save for their future.
"The nation's employers are at the heart of this and Standard Life has already helped businesses enrol over 1.5m employees into pension schemes.
"But there is still work to be done and we’re supporting employers and employees through the contribution increases that are the next important step."
David Gibb, chartered financial planner at Quilter, said: "It’s of little surprise that DB schemes are now touted as almost a holy grail of pension schemes as their value and reassurance of having income for life offer security that DC schemes do not.
"But the analysis from the ONS shows that it’s not just that security that makes DB schemes so valuable."
According to the ONS the vast majority (85 per cent) of defined benefit pension members received employer contributions equivalent to 12 per cent or more of their earnings in 2018, while just 8 per cent of defined contribution members received employer contributions of this size.
"This reflects the legal requirement on employers to ensure defined benefit schemes are funded sufficiently to pay future pensions," said Mr Gibb.
"It’s easy to see why the list of companies suffering under the weight of their pension liabilities is becoming ever longer prompting an increasing shift to DC.
Meanwhile, the figures revealed a higher proportion of women than men are now members of workplace pension schemes.
According to Royal London’s director of policy, Steve Webb, this is partly driven by the fact that pension membership rates are much higher in the public sector where women make up a larger proportion of the workforce.
He said: "Whilst it is great news that far more women are now members of workplace pensions than in the past, there remains a pension gulf between men and women.
"Being a member of a pension is a great start, but the size of your pension will depend on how much you earn and how much you and your employer contribute.
"On both of these fronts, inequalities in the jobs market mean that women are still lagging far behind men when it comes to building up decent pensions. On current trends, women’s pension equality could still be decades away."
The figures found the gap between public and private sector pensions shrank between 2017 and 2018, with the private sector seeing the largest growth of employees participating in a pension, with 72 per cent now contributing.
In comparison, 90 per cent of public sector employees are contributing to an occupational pension.
Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon, said: "This trend is helping to reverse a long term decline in saving provision and means that the UK is increasingly getting onto a more stable footing when it comes to preparation for retirement.
"While we’re going in the right direction, more still needs to be done as auto enrolment contribution levels are not likely to convert into a comfortable retirement income and people need to consider making additional contributions."
Last week the minimum employee contribution to a workplace pension rose to 5 per cent, while the employer must now put in 3 per cent.
