The TUC has revealed the UK’s pension blackspots, with its analysis showing that in some industries, like hospitality and agriculture, six in ten workers are not enrolled in a pension.
The TUC says many are missing out on a decent retirement because they earn less than £10,000 – the level of earnings at which employers must enrol someone into a workplace pension. Despite the success of pension auto-enrolment, nearly 9 million UK workers are still unable to save into a pension scheme.
The five industries with the lowest level of pension cover are:
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing – 65 per cent of employees (93,000) do not have a pension.
- Hospitality – 60 per cent of employees (908,000) do not have a pension.
- Other services (hairdressing and beauty) – 56 per cent of employees (270,000) do not have a pension.
- Construction – 50 per cent (493,000) of employees do not have a pension.
- Arts and entertainment – 48 per cent of employees (253,000) do not have a pension.
The TUC also found evidence of a 'pension lottery' among those saving into a workplace pension.
In low-paid sectors, like wholesale and retail, nine out of ten savers received contributions worth less than eight per cent of salary from their employer. By contrast, in industries like financial services (where there are more high earners), the vast majority of savers received more than eight per cent in contributions from their bosses.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said, “Auto-enrolment has been a great success. But it’s not a case of ‘job done’. Millions remain at risk of poverty in retirement because they are saving nothing, or very little, into a pension scheme. We urgently need the government to help more low-paid workers join schemes. And ministers must set out a plan for increasing contributions from employers.”
* Trades Union Congress https://www.tuc.org.uk/
[Ekk/6]
Diaspora*
Digg
Reddit
Newsvine
Technorati
StumbleUpon