What official data tells us about workplace pensions

Using the power of inertia, more than 10m people have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension, meaning a better retirement outcome for millions of Britons.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 78 per cent of UK employees now have a workplace pension, compared to less than 50 per cent before AE was introduced in 2012.

But the latest ONS figures also show that while millions of people are now participating in a workplace (largely defined contribution) pension scheme, the rate at which people are joining has been tailing off.

In 2020, the number of Britons saving into workplace pensions was only incrementally higher than in 2019.

While some commentators are hoping this is just a blip caused by the uncertainty last year around Covid-19, others have warned that gaps in participation across different sectors in society are starting to become ever more apparent. 

This CPD feature will demonstrate why there are disparities in the private and pension sectors, whether participation rates tailing off is a Covid blip or a wider issue, and what more needs to be done to encourage pension take-up among women and the self-employed.

The feature - which can be read by clicking on the image above - qualifies for an estimated 30 minutes' structured CPD. 

simoney.kyriakou@ft.com