Nearly 50,000 people across Bradford are now saving towards their retirement, new figures show.
Employers must enrol staff aged 22 and over who earn more than £10,000 into a pension, as part of Government’s auto enrolment scheme.
Figures from the Pensions Regulator show 47,000 workers across the district have been automatically enrolled in the saving scheme since it began in 2012.
Across Shipley 1,190 businesses have signed up and 9,000 workers are now saving.
Shipley MP Philip Davies said: “It is essential we change the way we save for pensions. Things like this seem a long way off, especially the younger a person is, and that is why I believe automatic enrolment is the solution.
“It takes away the need to think about a pension and keep putting it off and will change the way we save money. It will become the norm for generations to come to start saving towards retirement when they start work, so every pound they earn will count.
“Businesses in Shipley are on board and helping their staff create a more financially secure future and I delighted to see so many businesses taking part.”
Nationally as of January, more than 1.032 million employers were signed up with 9.3 million employees registered in the scheme.
Pensions Minister Guy Opperman said: “We believe that the retirement saving habit needs to be established at the start of a working life. That is why we are going to make saving the norm for young people, by lowering the age for automatic enrolment from 22 to 18, to bring an extra 900,000 people into workplace pensions.”
A Government review into automatic enrolment has yet to find a solution for self employed people who have different income and saving needs. The Department for Work and Pensions will explore solutions with experts.