Many will opt out of pension plan

By Jeff Salway
Published on 09/03/2013 14:24

Almost half of employees in Scotland being automatically signed up for a workplace pension say they’ll exercise their right to opt out, new figures show.

Under reforms introduced in October, millions of people are being automatically enrolled by their employers into a pension scheme in an attempt to boost savings levels.

More than two-thirds of employees in Scotland are familiar with the rules, compared with 59 per cent across the UK as a whole, while Scots are also more likely to believe the reforms will encourage people to save, according to research by Aviva.

Just four in ten Scots currently pay into a workplace pension. Yet 44 per cent of those who don’t have an existing pension say they will opt out of any scheme they’re enrolled into, despite employer and government contributions to their pot. Of those set to opt out, 23 per cent say they can’t afford the contributions.