Saving for later life: Work and Pensions Committee publishes Government Response to Report

The Work and Pensions Committee has today published the Government, Financial Conduct Authority and the Money and Pension Service Responses to its Report on saving for later life.

While the Responses commit to further work aimed at encouraging savers to engage with pensions, the Government rejects one of the Committee’s main recommendations of drawing up a plan for introducing higher minimum contribution rates in the future.

The Report warned that ten years on from the introduction of automatic workplace pension enrolment, more than 60% of people were still at risk of missing out on an adequate standard of living in retirement, with minimum contributions to pensions too low.

Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP, Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, said:

“The Government is tinkering around the edges and relying on nudging people towards engaging with pensions rather than tackling the problem of under saving head on. This approach, as we heard many times during our inquiry, is unlikely to be enough.

“The Government accepts the warning that the current level of minimum auto enrolment contributions will likely lead to many missing out on a comfortable retirement. It now must get on with building a consensus on the need for change and draw up a plan for introducing higher minimum contributions to workplace pensions in the future.”