More than 1m employers have now enrolled their staff into a workplace pension, according to figures compiled by the Pensions Regulator.
The staggered staging of automatic enrolment has meant the amount of participating employers has spiked up faster in recent months, as the initiative sweeps up small and micro businesses. More than 600,000 new employers were brought into the regime in the last year.
With 150,000 employers still to implement their solution, the Department for Work and Pensions is eyeing the milestone of 10m new savers later this year.
2018 will also see the first contribution rises, to a combined 5 per cent of earnings from 2 per cent, from April.
Opt-out rates have been surprisingly low since auto-enrolment's inception, but the industry will be watching the reaction of savers and employers with bated breath.
Guy Opperman, minister for pensions and financial inclusion, stated the DWP's intention to help employers acclimatise to auto-enrolment.
"Clearly this would not have been possible without the hard work and continued support of employers across the UK," he said.
"That is why we are committed to working closely with them to prepare for our recently announced proposals which will ensure even more people, including 18-21-year-olds, lower earners and multiple jobholders, can benefit from a workplace pension in the future."
