Jane Hunt MP welcomes boost to 11,000 workers in Loughborough from ten years of automatic enrolment

Jane Hunt MP has welcomed new figures that show 11,000 employees in the Loughborough constituency have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension – delivering on the Government’s priority to build a more inclusive savings culture.

Overall, participation in workplace pensions has risen from 42 per cent in 2012 to 86 per cent in 2020 – thanks to work that has been carried out by successive governments.

Prior to the introduction of Automatic Enrolment in 2012, the number of employees participating in workplace pensions was 10.7 million, representing just 55 per cent of those eligible. By 2020, 19.4 million employees were participating in a workplace pension, representing 88 per cent of those eligible – an increase of 33 per cent.

Employers have also played a major role in supporting Automatic Enrolment, increasing their contributions in 2019 to ensure savers put away contributions worth 8% of their pay.

These figures mean that total annual savings for eligible savers increased to £105.9 billion in 2020, real terms increase of 37 per cent compared to 2012.

Thanks to Automatic Enrolment, an overwhelming majority of eligible workers are now saving an asset for their future.

Jane said:

“We know that strong financial security later in life is vital and we should do everything we can to help people with this.

“That is why I am delighted that 10 years after its launch, the Automatic Enrolment scheme has helped 11,000 workers in my Loughborough constituency to save for their futures by getting more people enrolled into pension schemes to take control of their future finances, and I am pleased that there are plans to go further by removing the lower earnings limit.

“Automatic Enrolment has been transformative for thousands of employees, and especially transformative for young people and women – creating a stronger savings culture for future generations.”