Monday, October 09, 2017

Pension Poverty

Almost a million hospitality staff are among workers at risk of a retirement in poverty, a study has shown.

According to the TUC, as many as six in 10 workers in low-paid sectors such as retail and agriculture are not enrolled in a pension. They slip through the net of the government’s pensions auto-enrolment system as they earn less than the £10,000 minimum level at which employers are forced to set them up with a savings plan.  Workers in low-paid sectors appear not to be receiving the same level of contributions from their employers as those at the top. As many as nine out of 10 savers in the wholesale and retail industries received less than 8% of salary from their employer. 

The industries with the lowest level of pension cover are agriculture, forestry and fishing, hospitality, construction, arts and entertainment, and other services such as hairdressing and beauty. The TUC said nearly 9m workers in total were unable to save into a pension scheme due to low pay.

TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said: “Millions remain at risk of poverty in retirement because they are saving nothing, or very little, in a pension scheme."

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