The Pensions Regulator (TPR) used its auto-enrolment enforcement powers a total of 21,814 times between October and December 2018, according to its latest Compliance and Enforcement Quarterly Bulletin.
This compared to its use of powers 38,095 times in the previous quarter.
Between October and December 2018, 5,758 fixed penalty notices were issued, compared with 12,551 between July and September of the same year.
Fixed penalty notices are fixed fines of £400 issued to employers who do not comply with statutory notices.
Since the roll-out of auto-enrolment in 2012, TPR has issued a total of 73,833 fixed penalty notices.
The report also revealed that 2,689 escalating penalty notices were issued in the last quarter of 2018. These are daily fines of between £50 and £10,000 depending on the size of employer. A total of 18,642 fixed penalty notices have been issued since the beginning of auto-enrolment.
Darren Ryder, director of automatic enrolment at TPR, said: “More than 1.4 million employers have done the right thing for their staff, and we’re delighted so many now have the opportunity to save for later in life. But we are not complacent, and will continue to ensure employers and their advisers meet their responsibilities.
“We will not tolerate behaviour by employers or their advisers that sees pension savers short-changed by not being put into a scheme.”
