Concerns have been raised for those left behind by auto-enrolment following the government’s publication of statistics on the policy.

Analysis by the Department for Work and Pensions said three quarters of all workers are estimated to be eligible for auto-enrolment. By 2020 over 10 million people are expected to be newly saving or saving more as a result of auto-enrolment.

This means that an additional £17bn a year is projected to be saved into workplace pensions by 2019/20. Of the £17bn, an expected £6bn is expected to be from employer contribution, £8bn from employees and £2bn in tax relief.

However, Fidelity head of pensions policy Richard Parkin said that although there is “much to celebrate” with the high numbers of people that will be auto-enrolled the statistics also highlight that people are being left behind.

“Young people and those on low incomes are not eligible for automatic enrolment with the impact of the salary limit most acutely felt by women where over a third are excluded. While some have the right to opt-in, we know that it is the inertia effect that gets people saving and keeps them saving.

“In its forthcoming review of automatic enrolment government needs to look at ways of bringing these people into the system. We cannot afford to leave those on low incomes further behind and excluding younger workers misses a great opportunity to establish the savings habit from the start of their working lives.”

Commenting on the announcement, Pensions Minister Richard Harrington said: “I want to congratulate everyone who has already made automatic enrolment such a success. It is clear we are helping to create a culture of saving, giving people a much-needed boost to their pensions, and the important work on roll-out continues.

“My mission is to ensure everyone has the opportunity to benefit from a workplace pension. For some people, this may be the first time they have saved in this way, and we must help them build a big enough savings pot so they can enjoy a comfortable retirement.”

The figures released today have been updated based upon the latest DWP modelling, analysis of the 2015 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and evidence from the Employers’ pension provision survey 2015.

The figures also take into consideration that three quarters of the total working population are now estimated to meet the age and earnings criteria for automatic enrolment. Over 6.7 million people have already been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension by more than 250,000 employers.

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