Auto-enrolment

Auto-enrolment

FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT: The Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) (No. 2) Bill received Royal Assent on 18 September 2023 as the Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023 (the Act) and was published on 19 September 2023. The Act gives regulation-making powers to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to (i) reduce the lower age limit at which otherwise eligible workers must be automatically enrolled and re-enrolled into a pension scheme by their employers, (ii) remove the Lower Earnings Limit from the qualifying earnings band so that contributions are calculated from the first pound earned, and (iii) modify the requirements of the annual review of the qualifying earnings band. The changes on eligibility for automatic enrolment are to be implemented after a period of consultation on the precise implementation approach and timing. The date for the coming info force of section 1 of the Act is set to be ‘on such day or days as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint’. For further information, see: DWP press release, Work and Pensions Committee welcomes Royal Assent for legislation on expanding pensions auto-enrolment, LNB News 19/09/2023 32

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Pensions News

PRA publishes letter on solvency-triggered termination rights in BPA transactions

The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has published a 'Dear Chief Risk Officer' letter by its executive director of insurance supervision, Gareth Truran, to share its view of the potential risks arising from the use of solvency-triggered termination rights clauses (STTRs) in bulk purchase annuity (BPA) transactions and its assessment of how firms are mitigating those risks. The letter follows a thematic review of STTRs, which allow pension scheme counterparties to terminate BPA buy-in arrangements if an insurer’s solvency position falls below a defined threshold. The PRA notes that while these clauses are becoming more common, they may introduce financial and operational risks, particularly in stressed conditions, and could affect firms’ liquidity, asset composition and matching adjustment (MA) portfolios.

Decisive reform needed to fix pension issues, IFS report says

Law360; The government should widen the age range for employees being automatically enrolled in a work-based pension, one of a raft of proposals that would address a series of risks to the future of UK pensioners, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) recommended on 2 July 2025.

Briefing paper published on Pension Schemes Bill prior to its second reading on 7 July 2025

The House of Commons Library has published a briefing paper on the Pension Schemes Bill 2024-25, a government bill introduced on 5 June 2025, which is listed for its second reading on Monday 7 July 2025. The briefing paper sets out the background, effect and commentary on the Bill in advance of its second reading before MPs in the House of Commons

GAD issues technical bulletin on ONS population projection methodology changes

The Government Actuary's Department (GAD) has published a technical bulletin examining the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) 2022-based national population projections. The bulletin outlines key methodology changes, including implementation of a new mortality model and reduction of the long-term mortality improvement rate from 1.2% to 1.1%. The ONS issued a notice in June 2025 recommending use of migration category variant projections instead of principal projections for UK and England analyses. These changes follow consultation with the NPP Mortality Expert Advisory Panel.