Preventing staff from saving in a workplace pension scheme is set to become illegal under new government proposals.
According to minister Mike O'Brien, the Department of Work and Pensions intends to amend the pensions bill during its passage through the House of Lords in order to prohibit employers from offering "inducements" to opt out of a scheme or forcing them not to.
The measures will cover incentives such as higher salaries or one-off bonuses, he stated.
Mr O'Brien said: "While it may seem attractive in the short term to accept an inducement to opt out, when people reach retirement with a lower pension, they're likely to regret taking the easy option."
This is the reason the government is looking to prevent employers from pressuring staff into not making use of a company pension scheme, he added.
Recently, a study by consultants Aon found that 98 per cent of people under estimate the amount of money their firms spends on benefits such as pensions.
