Darren Ryder steps down from TPR

The watchdog announced today that Mr Ryder will leave the organisation in early 2020.

Mr Ryder joined TPR eight years ago to support the initial design and delivery of auto-enrolment in the UK, following his involvement in the successful implementation of Kiwi-Saver in New Zealand.

He initially joined the regulator on a six-month secondment, but he decided to stay on to work as head of compliance and enforcement, before becoming director of the AE programme in 2017.

Mr Ryder said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at TPR and am immensely proud of the work the team has achieved together.

“I know that I am leaving committed, talented people who will continue to build on the success of auto-enrolment, ensuring that millions more people can save with confidence for their retirement.”

Charles Counsell, chief executive of TPR, said: “Darren has made a huge contribution to the successful delivery of auto-enrolment in the UK, with more than 10m people now saving into a pension.

“Darren only planned to be with us for six months, and he stayed for eight years, supporting me and the wider TPR team through the design, build and delivery of auto-enrolment. I am hugely grateful to him for the difference he has made and I wish him every success in the future.”

AE was introduced in late 2012 and to date 10m employees have been enrolled into a workplace pension.

The minimum pension contributions increased in April, to 8 per cent from 5 per cent.

In December 2017, the Department for Work and Pensions published its review into AE, which announced a series of measures the government was looking to implement. 

This included lowering the age of workers auto-enrolled into workplace pension schemes from 22 to 18 years, and calculating contributions from the first pound earned, instead of the current £10,000 lower earnings threshold. However, these changes will only by introduced in the mid-2020s.