Henry Smith MP has welcomed figures showing further increases on auto-enrolment on private sector pensions, and praised a local company involved in the roll-out in the House of Commons on Monday, 2nd November.

Henry said;

“It’s good to see that since auto-enrolment began in 2012, private sector participation in workplace pension saving has risen by 3.3 million people across the country.

“Figures from July 2015 also showed that those earning between £10,000 and £20,000 saw the largest increase between 2012 and 2014, more than doubling from 21 per cent to 50 per cent.”

“Crawley-based B&CE are rolling out the people’s pension, and I was pleased to see them recognised in Parliament.

“I’m grateful for B&CE’s work in helping people across the country in joining the auto-enrolment scheme.”

Henry Smith, Member of Parliament for Crawley, asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP;

“What assessment he has made of the effect of auto-enrolment on private sector pension saving.”

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Shailesh Vara MP, responded;

“Since the gradual introduction of automatic enrolment began in 2012, participation in workplace pension saving in the private sector has increased by 21 percentage points, from 42%, or 5.9 million workers, in 2012, to 63%, or 9.2 million workers, in 2014.”

Henry followed up;

“Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating B&CE, based in my constituency, on so expertly rolling out its people’s pension, an important provision for workers across the country?”

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions responded;

“I am happy to congratulate B&CE on its people’s pension product and the work it does. It is important that the roll-out of automatic enrolment receives as much support as possible so that people can make choices that are right for them. I also commend my hon. Friend for his excellent work, which was evident when I visited his constituency.”