Million start saving for their retirement

The Pensions Regulator, which is responsible for supporting firms as they automatically place employees into workplace pensions, confirmed the milestone figure has been reached.

The shake-up started last autumn with larger companies, amid fears that people are living for longer but failing to put enough cash aside for their later years.

An estimated 11 million people are not saving enough to achieve the level of income they are likely to want for a comfortable retirement and official figures released earlier this week showed that private pension saving slid to record lows just before the reforms were launched.

Minister for Pensions Steve Webb said: “Today is a real landmark in this quiet revolution, finally reversing decades of decline in pension saving.

“This is the biggest change to the pensions system for a century. The money workers save is being matched by contributions from their employers and topped up by tax relief, helping them put money aside for their retirement, many for the first time.”

The Pensions Regulator publishes monthly updates for the numbers of people who have been automatically placed into pension schemes. All employers must register this information with the regulator.

The biggest firms started placing workers into schemes from October.