The Pension Regulator is getting tough with employers who don’t comply to auto-enrolment regulations. In its latest report the watchdog revealed that the number of compliance notices it has issued almost doubled over a 12-month period.
The TPR says it issued 61,000 compliance notices in 2017, up from nearly 34,000 the year before.
However it added that the majority of employers comply when they are reminded of their duties.
The report shows that the number of employees saving into a pension has continued to increase, as has the total value of these pension savings.
According to the TPR, 84 per cent of employees now saving into a workplace pension, an increase from 77 per cent the previous year.
The total amount saved into a pension by eligible staff in 2017 was £90.3bn, up from £86bn.
This annual report says that AE has now reached a “steady state” where around 100,000 new businesses a year will be putting staff into a pension as soon as they employ them.
TPR’s director of automatic enrolment, Darren Ryder, sayd: “Today’s report demonstrates how far we’ve come in making workplace saving the social norm, thanks to the success of automatic enrolment.
“Employers nationwide have successfully complied with the law to give their staff the opportunity to start saving for their retirement, often for the first time.
“Our role now is to ensure current and new employers continue to meet their duties, including re-enrolment and next year’s further increase to minimum contributions, so that the culture of saving remains strong. We will continue to act if employers fail to comply.”
The report found that around two thirds of employers do not use external advisers to help them with these pension obligations. It also found that the cost of accessing this advice for smaller employers is falling.
According to the TPR the cost of business advisers for employers with between one and four staff has fallen from £42 to £18 since the previous survey.
The report says that the majority of employers spend less than two hours a month on their ongoing duties and find them easier than they expected.
Ryder added: “ We’re monitoring employers to ensure they’re complying with the new increased contribution rates which started in April 2018. Our initial analysis shows very high compliance.”