WIREDGOV

Commenting on the new timetable for the staging of auto-enrolment, announced today (Wednesday) in a written ministerial statement, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:

'This is a deeply disappointing delay. Everyone agrees that we face a pensions crisis, with two out of three private sector workers not in any kind of workplace pension.

'Yet successive governments have delayed the introduction of auto-enrolment and the new system will not now be fully in place until three years after the next general election.

'Today's announcement does not just hit the staff of small employers. What's worse is that even workers auto-enrolled this year will now have to wait until the end of the staging process before they get their full contribution.

'This is because contributions are being phased in, with the final stage delayed until 2018 - thirteen long years after the Pensions Commission recommended auto-enrolment.

'It all adds up to a classic case of 'make me good, but not yet'.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The written ministerial statement on the new timetable for auto-enrolment is available at www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-vote-office/4.DWP-Changes-to-the-automatic-enrolment-timetable.pdf

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248 M: 07778 158175 E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717 531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Elly Gibson T: 020 7467 1337 M: 07900 910624 E: egibson@tuc.org.uk