48% will stay in pension post-auto-enrolment

Almost half (48%) of respondents will remain in their employer’s pension scheme once they have been auto-enrolled, according to research by information specialist EDM Group.

Its research, which surveyed 1,586 employees, found that less than a quarter (23%) have either immediately opted out of their employer’s pension scheme post-auto-enrolment or plan to do so once they have been enrolled, while 29% are unsure what they will do.

Respondents were also asked about the impact of growing proportion of their pay that will go into their workplace pension scheme as contribution levels increase in line with auto-enrolment legislation.

More than a quarter (26%) said it was very likely or quite likely they would opt out, while 45% said that it was very unlikely or quite unlikely they would opt out.

Mark Jones (pictured), group chief financial at EDM Group, said: “Our research shows that many people intend to remain in their workplace pension scheme once enrolled, which is great news in terms of addressing the issue of encouraging employees to save more for their retirement. 

“However, despite this, we are concerned that the increased amount of data that employers will have to manage as a result of more staff saving into pension schemes could cause information collection and management issues.”