Automatic Enrolment Changes Could Add £105bn To Young Adults' Pensions Over 50 Years

17th February 2024

The Government's decision to extend automatic enrolment to workers aged between 18 and 21 could mean an additional £105bn of pension savings for younger people across the UK over the next 50 years, according to new analysis by People's Partnership, which provides The People's Pension to more than 6.5 million people across the UK.

Following the passing of a new Bill in Parliament last year, automatic enrolment, which has seen nearly 11 million people start saving into a pension since 2012, is set to be extended to workers aged between 18 to 21 by the mid-2020s.

The analysis by People’s Partnership reveals that additional pension contributions of £400m per year for 18-21-year-olds will result in an additional £105bn of savings, over the next 50 years, when all returns, fees and further contributions are factored in.

Impact of the automatic-enrolment extension - an example:

An 18-year-old with a salary of £15,004 who contributes 8% to their pension will have £4,900 saved by the time they reach age 22.
The amount will add an extra £33,900 to their pension by the time they retire at age 68.

This calculation doesn’t factor in wage growth and compounding of additional contributions, so the total amount added to the pension as a result of saving earlier could be much higher.

The not-for-profit pension provider, which reinvests its profits to benefits its members is calling for cross party agreement, with the support of key unions and trade bodies, on a timeline for implementing the vital reforms.

Phil Brown, director of policy at People’s Partnership, said, "The earlier you can save into a pension the better as it means your money is invested for longer and has more time to benefit from growth in investment markets. So, the Government’s commitment to help younger workers start saving for their future is a huge step forward. But now we need to see promises turned into action, with a cross-party consensus on the timeline for delivering this change, given we have been waiting for this since 2017.

"Automatic enrolment is undoubtedly one of the most successful Government policies in living memory, enabling millions of people to save tens of billions of pounds extra into their pension. It’s absolutely right that the policy continues to develop so that it reaches its full potential and enables as many people as possible to have the opportunity to benefit.

"With nearly 4 in 10 people not saving enough for their retirement, the next big challenge for policymakers and the industry is reaching a consensus on how we solve the problem of under saving."

peoplespartnership.co.uk