Ageing population means getting auto-enrolment right is more important than ever
Cartoon: Graeme Keyes
‘Auto-enrolment has been talked about for 30 years – in 2025 it will become a reality.” That is how then social protection minister Heather Humphreys made the pledge last year to set up a new pension system for 800,000 workers who don’t have any retirement safety net. It has now been kicked back to 2026. What’s another few months after 30 years, I suppose?
Discussing pensions is a bit like talking about asteroids that are millions of kilometres away with a low chance of hitting the Earth. Too remote and intangible to be of immediate worry. But old age is a lot more certain. Some have banked on their home or rental income from property providing their future pension, but even that looks a lot less certain as the percentage of renters is expected to grow.