Pension auto-enrolment is getting more UK workers saving for the future
In a sign that UK workers are starting to save again since the financial crisis hit, new data shows that the total annual pension contributions made in the UK has increased by nearly a fifth since 2010.
Analysis of HMRC data by Prudential shows workers paid £9.03bn into pensions in 2014-15, up from the £7.71bn contributed in 2010-11.
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However, the amount contributed last year is still below levels contributed before the financial crisis; the total amount put into pensions in 2007-08 was £10.18bn.
The number of people paying into a pension has also been increasing since auto-enrolment started. In the first 18 months of auto-enrolment, which rolled out from October 2012, over one million more people started contributing to a pension.
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Stan Russell, a retirement income expert at Prudential, said: "After taking a long time to recover after the shock of the financial crisis, it appears that workers in the UK are starting to catch the pensions savings bug again.
"The ongoing changes to the rules governing pensions are undoubtedly helping to fuel their growth in popularity – while auto-enrolment is encouraging many first time savers, the flexibility brought about by pension freedoms has encouraged existing savers to increase the amounts they save."