Pensions minister Torsten Bell has issued a warning to millions of UK workers, saying that collectively people are not saving enough to ensure a comfortable retirement for today's workers.
The Swansea West MP delivered his message to self-employed people in his latest newsletter, stating: "The blunt truth is that collectively we are not saving enough to ensure that today's workers, tomorrow's pensioners, have a comfortable retirement."
Bell warned that people retiring in 2050 could face private pension incomes 8% lower than current retired people.
Millions outside automatic enrolment
The warning comes as over 4 million self-employed workers across the UK fall outside the automatic enrolment system. The Society of Pension Professionals has highlighted this crisis in a new report titled 'The Missing Millions', noting there is "no equivalent workplace default, no employer contribution and no payroll mechanism to make saving effortless" for the self-employed.
Currently, 15 million people are under-saving for retirement, a figure that could reach 19 million without urgent action, the Pensions Commission has warned.
Government pledge on recommendations
Bell explained: "For every £1 the worker saves they get £4 back in retirement... Compound interest is a wonderful thing."
The minister pledged that the government would act on the Pensions Commission's recommendations to address what he described as a decades-long savings challenge.
