Asked by: Teresa Pearce (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in Erith and Thamesmead constituency have (a) opted out after being auto-enrolled into a workplace pension and (b) saved more than the auto-enrolment minimum contribution.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Automatic enrolment has achieved a quiet revolution through getting employees into the habit of pension saving, and reversing the decline in workplace pension participation in the decade prior to these reforms. Since automatic enrolment started in 2012 participation rates have been transformed with 87% of eligible employees saving into a workplace pension in 2018, up from 55% in 2012.
The Department does not hold data for individual constituencies in relation to opt outs or the number of individuals who have saved above the automatic enrolment minimum contribution level. However, we do know that overall around 9% of automatically enrolled workers have chosen to opt out which is significantly below original estimates; and our latest evaluation report shows that, in April 2017, approximately 5.9 million eligible employees were already meeting the April 2019 minimum contribution rates.
I am providing the following information about the impact of automatic enrolment in your constituency, as of August 2019:
In the Erith and Thamesmead constituency, since 2012, approximately 5,000 eligible jobholders have been automatically enrolled and 1,180 employers have met their duties.
Automatic Enrolment Evaluation Report 2018, available via the following weblink: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/764964/Automatic_Enrolment_Evaluation_Report_2018.pdf.
The Pensions Regulator’s data on Automatic enrolment declaration of compliance by constituency, available via the following weblink: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests
Asked by: Teresa Pearce (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of savings to the public purse from preventing claimants being paid the employment and support allowance (ESA) assessment rate if they have been found fit for work and then reapply for ESA.
Answered by Mark Harper
The information requested is contained within the Autumn Statement 2014: policy costings document which can be accessed via the following weblink – the relevant page is 66: