Auto Enrolment– Unexpected stats on opt-outs
Never ones to rest on their gold plated laurels those busy 
bees at the Department for Work and Pensions have been busy putting together their latest report on automatic enrolment into workplace pension schemes.
The Automatic Enrolment Evaluation Report 2013 shows the breakdown, by different factors, of private sector employees eligible for automatic enrolment savings into a workplace pensions.
The report breaks down the data by industry, employer size earnings and age. The key points from the results are:
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There is certainly a buzz in the energy sector where those employed in the Energy and Water industry have the highest participation rate at 63% in 2012.
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It’s taking longer to sow the seeds and hook new savers in the Agriculture and Fishing industry with a participation rate of just 18%.
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Employers with between 250 and 4,999 employees have the highest participation rate at 53%
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Those earnings over £40,000 have the highest participation rate at 74%.
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Understandably, those earning less than £10,000 have a 32% rate.
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In terms of age employees aged between 22 and 29 have the lowest levels of participation at 24% compared to those aged 40 to 49 and 50 to 64 which have a rate of 50%.
From a personal viewpoint I’m surprised that the opt-out rate has been so low. It’ll be interesting to see how this figure moves as smaller and smaller employers come under the new rules. My suspicion at the moment is that inertia is propping up the figures. In other words, people are just not capable of getting around to getting the opt-out notice, completing it and getting it back to their employer within a month.
As time goes on I suspect that the coffee tables of the nation will harbour more than a few opt-out notices whose destiny is to keep last Christmas’s Radio Times company! But then perhaps I am just an old cynic.
Whether those modest pension savings will ever be enough to live on is a completely different matter.
Steve Clark