DWP backs proposals to expand Automatic Enrolment

07 Mar 2023

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently confirmed that it intends to support proposals to expand pensions Automatic Enrolment to under 22s and lower earners.

Currently, workers aged between 22 and the State Pension age are eligible for pensions auto-enrolment. The DWP said that lowering the age at which eligible workers must be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme from 22 to 18 will 'make saving the norm for young adults' and mean that they save for retirement from the start of their working lives.

The DWP also supports the removal of the Lower Earnings Limit: it says that this move will support individuals with low earnings and multiple jobs.

'We know that these widely supported measures will make a meaningful difference to people's pension saving over the years ahead,' said Laura Trott, Minister for Pensions.

'Doing this will see the government deliver on our commitment to help grow the economy and support the hard-working people of this country, particularly groups such as women, young people and lower earners who have historically found it harder to save for retirement.'