Pensions - Articles - Friends Life disappointed by delay to auto-enrolment

 In response to today's announcement that small businesses will have a 12-month delay to their auto-enrolment go-live date, Martin Palmer, Head of Corporate Benefits Marketing at Friends Life, said:

 "It's disappointing that the launch of auto-enrolment is being delayed for employers with fewer than 50 employees meaning it will be 2017 before many employees start to accrue what will be a basic level of benefits based on the bare minimum contribution levels. This is likely to affect the very group who are most in need of support to kick start savings and whom the reforms were designed to help. Furthermore, it will now take longer for the contribution rate to rise to eight per cent for employees working for the larger employers.

 "This delay could mean that many small employers will increasingly question whether the auto-enrolment duties will ever be applied to them. These changes now mean more confusion for the general public at a time when clarity is most needed. We would urge companies of all sizes to keep up the momentum of getting ready for auto-enrolment and encouraging their employees to think about long-term saving.

 "The benefits of workplace savings and in particular good quality pension schemes are often overlooked as a catalyst to real saving. We tackle this issue in the latest Friends Life report 'Pensions: The Root problem' which investigates consumer perspectives on pensions."

 Friends Life's latest report, 'Pensions, the root problem' is available at www.visionsofbritain2020.co.uk/.