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The workplace pension revolution has started

A major change on how we save for retirement is happening.

To encourage more people to save for their retirement, the government has introduced a law so all employers have to enrol their workers into a workplace pension if they’re not already in one. Large and medium sized employers have started and all firms will come on board by 2018. 

The aim is to help more people have another income, on top of the state pension, when they retire. 

Pensions can seem complicated; the great thing about automatic enrolment into a workplace pension is that it’s the opposite. You don’t need to do anything; your boss does all the hard work. Employers have to automatically enrol workers aged 22 and over, under state pension age, earning £10,000 or more a year and who don’t currently have a workplace pension.

Unlike other forms of saving, with a workplace pension you are not the only one paying in. Your boss will contribute and the government contributes through tax relief.

You can opt out if you want to, but if you do you’ll miss out on extra contributions from your employer and by staying in you will have your own pension pot for when you retire. 

The great news is that over 3.2 million people have already been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension since October 2012 and by the time all companies have enrolled their workers this number is expected to rise to around 9 million.

To find out what this means for you, and the benefits of staying enrolled, visit www.gov.uk/workplacepensions.