West Ham United Football Club auto-enrolled the UK’s three-millionth worker into a workplace pension scheme.
The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) latest Automatic-enrolment registration report from TPR showed that more than three million employees are now saving into a pension scheme through auto-enrolment, with the three-millionth worker employed by the Premier League club.
Since auto-enrolment began in October 2012, more than 10,000 employers have auto-enrolled their employees.
West Ham United Football Club reached its staging date in January 2014.
Karen Brady, vice chairman of West Ham United, said: “West Ham United is pleased to be supporting auto-enrolment.
“It is becoming increasingly important for people to plan for their future at an earlier age.
“[Auto-enrolment] should help to make a real difference to the retirement prospects of some of the unsung stars at our club.”
Today’s figures are another positive milestone for auto-enrolment, but the real litmus test will be when smaller businesses start to stage over the next 18 months. Worryingly, a recent survey of workers revealed that one in five people have not heard of auto-enrolment and a near two-thirds found out about the scheme via the media, not from their employer. This shows the size of the challenge that still remains.
Small businesses need to ensure that they are properly informed and ready for their staging date, while also making sure that their employees know all the options which are open to them. Sending a memo around the office is simply not enough. The best way to be prepared is to have the right software in place and to speak to an adviser if they are unsure as to their next steps. The more prepared businesses can be, the easier the transition come staging date will be.