The number of workers newly auto-enrolled into a workplace pension scheme continues to be outweighed by the number of new workers not auto-enrolled.

The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) latest statistics have revealed that the number of newly auto-enrolled workers increased by 16,000 to 10.165 million in September.

However, in the same month the number of workers who were not auto-enrolled into a pension scheme increased by 30,000 to 9.522 million.

The number of auto-enrolled workers has steadily been increasing since the start of the year, when it hit the 10 million mark, rising by 162,000 in nine months.

Although there are more auto-enrolled workers than workers not auto-enrolled into a scheme, the number has been rising at a faster pace since January, increasing by 230,000.

Since hitting the 10 million milestone, auto-enrolled workers have been increasing in number by at least 15,000 each month.

However, during the same period, the monthly increase in non-auto-enrolled workers has been at least 20,000.

TPR’s figures also showed that number of employers declaring their statistics increased by 15,432 to approximately 1.57 million, while the total number of workers employed at the companies declaring their statistics increased by 63,000, up to around 31.76 million.

In the report, TPR stated: “While the information is the actual data received by us, there will be employers that have reached their staging date, who have automatically enrolled their eligible jobholders and who have not yet completed their declaration.

“The figure for eligible jobholders that have been automatically enrolled is therefore likely to be higher than that shown in this report.”

TPR stepped up its use of AE powers in the first quarter of 2019 by 15 per cent, due to an increasing number of employers reaching their three-year re-enrolment date and who must re-declare compliance to TPR, as well as the continued enforcement activity against employers after the first increase of combined minimum contributions in April 2018 to 5 per cent.

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