The number of workers who have newly enrolled into a pension scheme since the introduction of auto-enrolment (AE) has topped 11 million, according to new figures from The Pensions Regulator.

On top of that, because of re-enrolment, more than 1 million people are now saving again who had previously opted out.

In total, more than 20 million people are now saving into workplace pensions, TPR said.

The regulator claimed credit for ensuring all savers get the workplace pensions they are due and the best value-for-money outcomes.

It has been using a targeted communications campaign to boost compliance, reminding employers why re-enrolling and redeclaring their staff every three years is so vital a duty. Employers that fail to meet their duties by re-enrolling staff risk being fined by TPR.

In a blog post published on Monday, Sarah Howitt-Jones, TPR interim joint director of AE, said: “The good news is that the vast majority of employers are meeting their duties.

“More than 2.3 million employers have enrolled or re-enrolled employees in workplace pensions since the launch of AE in 2012.”

She said the regulator’s work is ensuring that employers play ball.

She said: “Last year alone, TPR’s AE services engaged directly with more than 600,000 employers to support compliance, and, through enforcement, recovered more than £135m in missing pension contributions (2022-2023).” 

TPR refreshed its declaration of compliance site in January to make it simpler for employers and advisers to comply with AE duties. Since it went live on 8 January more than 88,000 employers and advisers have used the site to declare or redeclare their compliance.

Ms Howitt-Jones said that building on the success of AE, “we are looking forward to working with the government as it seeks to further extend the framework, giving many more people the opportunity to save for their future.

“We’ll work with the pensions industry, as well as the DWP, to ensure employers have the support they need to plan for change.”