Nearly 90,000 employers have implemented a stakeholder
pension scheme for their employees, according to figures published today by the
Association of British Insurers.
Returns from 46 of the 47 registered stakeholder providers,
show that 88,394 companies had made the necessary administrative preparations
by the end of June, in advance of the
scheme’s deadline on October 8.
Employers with five or more staff are required by law to
choose a stakeholder scheme if they make no other pension provision or face
fines of up to £50,000, although employers have no obligation to promote the
scheme or make any contributions.
The ABI’s data also reveals that 224,506 stakeholder
pensions were sold in the first three months since they were launched in April
of this year.
“Stakeholder pensions have made an encouraging start. This
reflects a lot of hard work by the industry. There are plenty of challenges
ahead, but we are pleased to see that many employers have already taken the
plunge. Employers will play a key role in the autumn in boosting take up of
stakeholder pensions, particularly by people with modest incomes who need to
save for their retirement,” said Mary Francis, Director General of the ABI.
By Paul Nelson
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