Two-thirds of the pension schemes that had previously ruled out outsourcing their administration would now consider doing so, according to Capita Hartshead.

In its 17th Administration Survey, Capita Hartshead found a full 35 point increase in those considering outsourcing on last year's survey, a trend most prevalent among defined contribution (DC) schemes.

Seventy-six per cent of defined benefit (DB) schemes are now closed to new entrants, compared to 71 per cent in 2009, and the number of schemes closed to future accrual remains stable at 13 per cent. However, 15 per cent of survey participants said they intend to make this change in the next 12 months. In addition, 51 per cent of all survey respondents said they are likely to revise current scheme benefits to hold down costs as auto-enrolment looms.

A total of 31 per cent of eligible employees have not joined their employer's pension arrangement, and auto-enrolment is not expected to significantly improve this.

Twenty-five per cent of employees are tipped to opt out, and among DC schemes this opt-out rate increases to a potential 40 per cent.

"It is no surprise that people are taking a cautious view this far ahead of October 2012," commented Paul Sturgess, Capita Hartshead's director of DC policy and product development. "Everyone has been affected by the recession and there is more hardship to come as the Government's steps to reduce the national debt start to bite. Once auto-enrolment comes into effect, I would expect to see fewer people opting out than predicted, if only due to inertia. Our job in the pensions industry is to use the next two years to increase the level of understanding so that people make a positive choice to save towards their retirement."

The full results of the survey are available here.

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