The Investing and Saving Alliance (Tisa) has called on Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to introduce regular reviews of the auto-enrolment (AE) framework as part of the Spring Budget in March to improve people’s long-term saving outcomes.

In addition to this, the group have urged the government to act on the agreed outcomes of the 2017 AE review, including reducing the minimum age to 18 and removing the lower earnings limit.

It called for these outcomes to be put into legislation to ensure young people and lower earners can start saving earlier, noting that further clarity on the timings and implementation of these changes is required for employers and employees who will need to prepare.

Tisa also argued that contribution rates should increase to 12 per cent for individuals to save enough for a decent retirement, noting that whilst this might not be the right time to increase pension contributions, considering the financial strains of the pandemic, it is a “crucial issue” which will take time to achieve.

Tisa head of retirement, Renny Biggins, stated: “To ensure that AE continues to be a success, we believe the framework needs to be reviewed periodically against a constantly changing backdrop including personal wealth, taxes and working patterns.

“For example, the number of multiple job holders is increasing. Many of these people who work multiple jobs do so part-time and are unlikely to reach the £10,000 threshold in a single employment to be auto enrolled.

“There is also the additional unintended consequence that many of the lowest earners will be hit by the net pay anomaly, meaning they will see their take home pay reduced by up to £64 a year.

"We urge the government to undertake a formal review by 2023 and set a schedule for future reviews to ensure that AE is working for those it seeks to help the most."

Whilst the government has repeatedly committed to a "mid-2020's" timeline for the reforms, it recently confirmed that the lower earnings limit would remain frozen at £6,240 for 2021/22, emphasising the importance of an affordable implementation approach amid the pandemic.

Industry organisations have continued to back a number of the 2017 recommendations, highlighting the importance of the reforms amid the impact of the pandemic.

Research has further compounded these calls for action, identifying seven under-pensioned groups who have a private pension wealth equal to around 15 per cent of the UK average, alongside broader evidence of a "stark" ethnicity pensions gap, which could be improved by reforms.

Furthermore, the Association of Consulting Actuaries has also previously urged the government to publish a timeline for AE reforms and reviews, after research revealed "very strong" employer support for change.

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