RETHINK WHAT WE PAY

IT’S nearly 10 years since automatic enrolment was launched and in that time 10.6 million more workers have enrolled into a workplace pension scheme, with an additional £28.5bn saved annually.

Despite this huge success, there remains the question of whether the average auto-enrolment member is saving enough for the retirement they want. Our new research shows that most savers and employers are anchored to the minimum 8 per cent rate, with most wrongly believing that they are on track for a ‘moderate’ or ‘comfortable’ standard of retirement living.

There’s a growing consensus across the pension industry that an increase in contributions is required to improve the retirement prospects of millions. But with so many questions around how this could or should be done, we’re calling on the government to set out plans for a review of the minimum contributions required for auto-enrolment.

While people living across the UK, including this region, are rightly concerned about the increasing cost of living, a very real problem is building up for a significant proportion of the population in their retirement and it is crucial that the government comes up with a plan to tackle this.