Auto enrolment and advertising.

In October of this year, Government legislation regarding workplace pensions will come into action. Depending on who you work for and how big the company is, you might be one of the first or you might be one of the last, but the fact remains that unless they alter the legislation, you will be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension over the coming years, unless you decide to opt-out.

This post is not about discussing my position or thoughts on the auto enrolment legislation, though I will say that on the whole I think it is a good thing.  This post is about the lack of information being presented to the very people that this affects most of all - us.  You, me and every other person that has an annual income of over £7,745.

If you don't know about auto enrolment (and I doubt you do because of the lack of information out there), I will summarise.  From October 2012, every person earning £7,745 or more will legally have to have a workplace pension, unless they "opt-out" or choose otherwise.  This will involve you, your employer and the Government paying money into a pension scheme to save for your retirement. 

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has decided that (for now) they will not be placing television adverts to inform people about the auto enrolment.  TV is by far still the largest medium for mass notification of a message and forgive me for me sounding elitist, TV is also arguably the medium most used by people on lower incomes/the demographic of people that the auto enrolment workplace pensions legislation was set up to help.

The pension changes will not only affect us it will affect our employers too, but they are finding out plenty because every pensions' salesman or representative is telling them about it (whilst rubbing their hands together and polishing their horns).  The mass population however, is being given very little information and as it currently stands your employer has to give you only a months notice about your auto enrolment.  That is one months notice in which you will find out that your already diminishing household income is to diminish further.  Yes, ultimately it is being invested into your future, but that doesn't help you budget when you unexpectedly find that next months pay will be £50 down.

I find it worrying.  If you don't know about the auto enrolment, what it means and what your rights are,  you are not in the best position to make an informed decision about whether you should opt out.  Whilst I wouldn't want to tar all employers with the same brush, from a business position the auto enrolment legislation is not a good thing.  The cost of employing someone has just gone up by three percent, so why would a business want you to stay opted in?

I would like to stress that an employer or business is not allowed to encourage you to opt out, but if I weren't telling you that, would you know?

This is why it is so bad that there is so little information available to the everyday people that this will affect.  If you opt out of the workplace pension you will be lose out on additional income that you might not have had.  

Extra money. 

For you. 

Get yourselves informed.