A total of over £114bn has been invested in Automatic Enrolment pensions by nearly 11m people since they were first launched 10 years ago, new government figures published today show.

The Department for Work and Pensions says the workplace pension has helped millions more save for their retirement.

More than 10.7m employees saved into a workplace pension in 2021, latest figures show.

The scheme has particularly helped women with the proportion of women saving into a workplace pension, either public or private sector, up by about 50% since 2012.

The number of young people aged 22 to 29 saving into a workplace pension has also risen, more than doubling in the same time period.

The latest data shows that in 2021, employees saved £114.6 billion into their pensions, a real terms increase of £32.9 billion compared to 2012, when Automatic Enrolment was introduced.

Following the growth of Automatic Enrolment, the government says it intends to continue its work with thousands of employers and pension providers to further boost the amount of people in a workplace pension.

It will also continue its work on “empowering savers” to understand their pension options by introducing Pensions Dashboards and Mid Life MOTs.

The government has confirmed it is also exploring how Automatic Enrolment can be extended, by abolishing the Lower Earnings Limit for contributions and reducing the eligible age to 18.

New Pensions Minister Laura Trott said: “Automatic Enrolment has completely transformed how people save – with staggering results.

“In the ten years since its introduction, 10.7m people have started saving for their pensions with this easy to use scheme. We have also seen a huge and much needed increase in women and young people being enrolled into a pension.

"Automatic Enrolment is doing its job – helping more people save more so they can do more in retirement."

Helen Dean, CEO of the government-backed NEST auto enrolment scheme, said: “Over the past 10 years, Automatic Enrolment has completely changed the UK’s saving landscape, bringing millions of new people into pensions saving, many for the first time.

“It’s taken a lot of hard work and dedication, from the people who develop the policy, to schemes across the pensions industry and employers up and down the country.

The 10th anniversary was marked by a celebratory event, attended by those who have worked on Automatic Enrolment including businesses, employers, pension providers and regulatory bodies.