Government papers: Automatic enrolment: Qualitative research with small and micro employers

This Department for Work and Pension's report seeks to understand the impact of automatic enrolment (AE) on small and micro employers, and identify the main drivers of opt-out amongst their employees.

Key findings:

• Employers and workers alike tended to think that the state's role in providing for workers' retirement must inevitably lessen in the coming years.
• Almost all employers tended to take a pragmatic view about the limits of state pensions, they also tended to see AE as a necessary way to meet a future shortfall in retirement income.
• Most employers communicated AE to their workers verbally and in informal contexts within the workplace, before distributing statutory letters.
• Workers who opted out tended to give the decision much more thought, and were far firmer in their choice than those who remained members.
• Those who chose to opt-out either felt they could not afford to save anything or they expected a very comfortable retirement, using other pension provision.

This report presents findings from a survey of 70 small and micro employers that implemented AE during 2016, as well as 65 employees.