Pensions Minister Guy Opperman has announced his intention to deliver the results of the automatic-enrolment review, looking at coverage, engagement and contribution levels of the system, to Parliament during the week commencing 6 December.

Speaking at the PLSA Annual Conference, Opperman described automatic enrolment as “a strong force of social cohesion and intergenerational fairness”.

“We hope the review will provide a clear sense of direction and be the first step in an ongoing conversation between industry, employers and government about how we build on the excellent platform thus far,” he said.

However, Opperman stated that he does not underestimate the challenges of AE's continued roll out to small and micro employers and the planned increase in contribution rates, but the “fundamentals”, such as the lower than expected opt-out rate, “remain very very positive”.

According to Opperman, the “bedrock” of this [AE] system is trust and confidence in the pensions system.

“We know that a policy so successful is based on inertia, so there is a challenge here around consumer engagement. Low levels of engagement means trust and confidence cannot be taken for granted,” he explained.

“This is why we are specifically looking at how we can encourage positive engagement for savers, alongside other important areas such as coverage of the policy and strengthening the eminent space around future contributions.”

Describing himself as “utterly passionate about auto-enrolment and fully committed to it”, Opperman also added that he wanted to make the case that auto-enrolment is good for employers as well as employees.

“[Auto-enrolment] isn't just good for us as citizens and employees, I believe it is the right thing for businesses too and is a massive addition to the social cohesion of this country,” he said.

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