Businesses, pensioners and employees will be asked whether islanders should have to be offered a workplace pension by their bosses.

This is part of a public consultation, expected to be rolled out towards the end of 2025 or early 2026, that will help decide whether Jersey should make it law for employers to offer their staff a pension scheme.

The idea was initially suggested by the previous Council of Ministers, before being shelved by the current government.

Employers in Guernsey and Alderney with 26 or more staff are required to offer a pension. 

In the UK, every employer has had to automatically enrol staff over the age of 22 for at least the past two decades.

It was deemed necessary because millions of people are not saving enough for their retirement, with life expectancy increasing and people living longer reliant on the state pension.

The Social Security Minister has put proposed mandatory workplace pensions back on the table, after pausing work last summer to focus on setting higher minimum wage rates. 

Deputy Lyndsay Feltham told Channel 103 why she took that decision:

"The vast number of people that will need to save for a pension and (who will) be affected by the introduction of a secondary pension scheme are probably those on lower incomes.

"I didn't want to be in a position where I was prioritising asking them to save for their pensions when they couldn't afford to put bread on the table. So it was important for me to prioritise the minimum wage work."

The consultation is expected towards the end of 2025, or early 2026.

"It is important that when we introduce any legislation around such a scheme, that we have the confidence of the business community, as well as employees and future pensioners."