But, there will always be time lag in TPR’s data as employers have five months from their staging date to complete their declaration of compliance.
Smaller firms are likely to pose more of a challenge and already we’re seeing an increase in the number of firms coming to us late, or after their staging date has passed. In Q2, 40% completed their application either very close to their staging date or after their deadline had already passed - the highest percentage over the recorded quarters.
To safeguard the long term success of the policy, contribution levels need to be urgently addressed. The 2017 review of auto enrolment presents the perfect opportunity for the government to set a clear path for increasing minimum contributions, to make sure auto enrolled savers have decent sized pension pots when they retire.
As a first step, by removing ‘qualifying earnings’* from the auto enrolment calculation, the government could significantly improve outcomes for savers. There’s a widespread assumption that auto enrolment contributions are on every pound of earnings but in most cases this isn’t true.
Qualifying earnings is frequently overlooked but has a corrosive effect pension pots which has long term consequences for savers.”
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