Autumn Statement 2012: The increase in the personal allowance announced by Chancellor George Osborne could result in fewer low earners being auto-enrolled into workplace pension schemes.

This is because the qualifying earnings thresholds for auto-enrolment are linked to pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) thresholds.

Zoe Lynch, a partner at pensions law firm Sackers, said: “For anyone who falls within the personal allowance, it’s good news on one level, because they don’t earn enough pay tax, but the downside is they don’t earn enough to be enrolled automatically in a pension scheme.

“It’s a bit of a double-edged sword in that increasing the personal allowance could take people out of pensions saving.”

She added that this could particularly impact women who might be more likely to work in part-time or lower-paid roles.

Debbie Lovewell-Tuck is a business journalist with 20 years’ experience specialising in pay, reward and HR. She joined Employee Benefits as a reporter in 2003, before becoming editor in 2015. Debbie is also responsible for editorial content across Employee’ Benefits events, including Employee Benefits Live and the Employee Benefits Awards, as well as hosting Employee Benefits’ webinars.View full profile

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