Onward Director Will Tanner and Richard Holden MP wrote for Times Red Box following the publication of our report, Levelling Up Pensions. They write:
“a massive chunk of the population are left out. Why does it start at 22? Across the UK roughly half of 18-year-olds go straight into work or an apprenticeship – higher in many constituencies like North West Durham.
Why shouldn’t these taxpayers benefit from the same pension auto-enrolment as their 22-year-old siblings? Especially when four years of paying in between 18 and 22 means up to 50 years of compound interest. Even paying in a few pounds a week on a low wage during that time could leave you £25,000 better off when it comes to retirement.
The biggest iniquity, though, is for those working part-time (and they are much more likely to be women), sometimes in two or more jobs. They could earn £18,000 a year across several part-time roles but miss out on the benefits of auto-enrolment.
You can read the full article here.
