The bill which would extend auto-enrolment to those aged 18 and over has passed the House of Commons and has had its first reading in the House of Lords.
The pensions (extension of automatic enrolment) (no. 2) bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons on Friday (March 23).
The first reading in the House of Lords took place yesterday (March 27).
The second reading, which is a general debate on all aspects of the bill, is yet to be scheduled.
The private members bill from MP Jonathan Gullis, backed earlier this month (March 3) by the government, grants two extensions to auto-enrolment: abolishing the lower earnings limit for contributions and reducing the age for being automatically enrolled from 22 to 18 years old.
The expansion of automatic enrolment was originally proposed in 2017 by a government review, but no action had been taken since then to implement those proposals.
Earlier this month, pensions minister Laura Trott said the reform would make a meaningful difference to people’s pension saving over the years ahead.
"Doing this will see the government deliver on our commitment to help grow the economy and support the hard-working people of this country, particularly groups such as women, young people and lower earners who have historically found it harder to save for retirement," said Trott.
amy.austin@ft.com
