Auto-enrolment

Women's savings are being cut due to part-time work leaving them £105,000 worse off than men in retirement, research conducted by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) and Now Pensions revealed.

Pensions Buzz peers agreed with pensions and financial inclusion minister Guy Opperman and former shadow chancellor Ed Balls that now might be the time for a fresh commission.

With record numbers saving for retirement, Guy Opperman says we have an opportunity to make it easier for people to engage with their pensions

Ed Balls has backed the idea of holding a fresh pensions commission after the minister for pensions and financial inclusion, Guy Opperman, indicated support for such a review.

Auto-enrolment (AE) minimum contribution rates could rise to 12% by 2030, with a 50/50 split between employer and employee, the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) says.

Just over a third of women claim they do not have a pension plan compared to 17% of men, a Willis Owen survey has found.

The number of women participating in a workplace pension has increased by 70% since auto-enrolment (AE) began, analysis by Equiniti reveals.

Membership of occupational pension scheme membership has risen to a record high of 45.6 million people as of the end of last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Steps to improve auto-enrolment are uncontroversial and obvious, but the government is dawdling on introducing the necessary changes, argues Jack Jones.

The government's auto-enrolment provider NEST is going tobacco-free across all of its investment portfolios after concluding the asset is a "poor investment" for its eight million members.