Pendle MP, Gordon Prentice, has welcomed details of the latest stage in the Government’s programme of pensions reform which will affect millions of people in work.

This week, regulations were laid before Parliament which will give many employees a workplace pension for the very first time.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Yvette Cooper, yesterday described this as the most radical change to workplace entitlements since the introduction of the National Minimum Wage.

All employers, regardless of size, will be joining employees in paying into a pension scheme, for the first time. It will happen through automatic enrolment, in stages from 2012 to 2016, with the largest businesses of over 120,000 employees paying into a pension scheme from October 2012. Small business will be given extra time to comply.

The Pendle MP commented: "The Government tells us that 14 million people get no contribution from their employer towards a pension and around 7 million people are not saving enough for their retirement. These reforms will allow people on low and moderate incomes to save for their retirement with a guaranteed contribution from their employer."

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