Earlier this year, Jelf Employee Benefits mentioned that the then minister for pensions was openly discussing the need for an increase in the minimum level of auto-enrolment pension contributions.
This topic did not feature in the election debate on pensions, yet now that the dust has settled on a new majority administration Conservative government, and indeed a new pensions minister in the form of Dr Ros Altmann, we suspect that this subject will soon rise towards the top of the agenda again.
With this in mind, we asked more than 200 Jelf Employment Seminar delegates (mostly senior HR and finance professionals) how they would view a further increase to the auto-enrolment contribution rates. It is fair to say that the results of the survey (which can be seen via this link) proved something of a surprise, with a large level of employer support for any increase.
These findings have been widely reported in the employee benefits and HR media over the last few weeks, but for those looking for some additional thoughts on this topic we would refer you to Steve Herbert’s article on the Mindful Money website.
So, on this evidence at least, it appears that there will be limited opposition to such a move from employers. Time will tell if and when the new government look to progress this issue further.