Tag: Auto Enrolment

3 ways to comply with Employer Auto Enrolment Obligations

This is exactly how I pictured the partners lounge

Auto Enrolment has arrived and there is a lot to do……

The Pension Regulator website will help you create a stage by stage plan working back from the date when you need to start (staging date), it is a useful planning tool http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/planning-for-automatic-enrolment.aspx

Most schemes will be set up with one of the following providers:

NEST – National Employment Savings Trust – NEST was originally created by the government – limited help for employers

The Peoples Pension – B&CE – B&CE is well known in the Construction world, they have online tools to help you

Now: Pensions – ATP (Denmark) – 45 year experience in pensions and many awards

You could use another provider and you should take independent expert advise, never give pension or investment advice unless you are qualified to do so.

If you are asked for advice remember to say ‘I know nothing’

But as an employer you do need to select a pension scheme for Auto Enrolment.

Then you need to consider how you will comply with your responsibilities and keep records for:

  • Contributions
  • Opting Out
  • Opting In
  • Earnings
  • Employee Records
  • Communication with Employees

Take a look at this video for middleware to get an understanding of how you could manage your compliance requirements

So here are your 3 basic ways to comply:

  1. Small Employers – you may decide to do it yourself using information on the Pension Regulators website and provider of your choice
  2. Pension Provider Portals – schemes like the Peoples Pension will have portals and tools to help you manage your auto enrolment pensions but it won’t cater for other benefits and other schemes
  3. Middleware – like the video above, this gives lots of functionality and will allow you incorporate other schemes and benefits but its not free

You might also find this blog worth reading ‘10 things you need to know about Pension Auto Enrolment’

steve@bicknells.net

10 things you need to know about Pension Auto Enrolment

Almost 70% of workers in Britain have little or no knowledge of the government’s plan to automatically enrol people in their company pension scheme from 1 October 2012. The change to pensions legislation means millions of people who have so far not been saving for their retirement will begin putting money aside for the first time.

Up to 10 million people will be placed into schemes from this autumn, under government plans to tackle the pension savings crisis, beginning with larger companies.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/may/02/workers-unaware-auto-enrolment-pensions

Here are 10 things that you need to know:

  1. A Worker may include Agency workers and Self Employed workers depending on the their contracts
  2. One Person companies are not subject to Auto Enrolment however, if the company takes on a second worker and the director and new employee have contracts of employment then both could become workers under auto enrolment.
  3. Eligible Job holders are aged between 22 and state pension age and earn over £8105 and are automatically enrolled however Non Eligible Job holders could opt to join
  4. Employer contributions will start at 1% from October 2012 till 2017 (2% total contributions), then 2% till 2018 (5% total contributions), then go to 3% (8% total contributions)
  5. The employer must register their scheme www.tpr.gov.uk/registration
  6. The scheme is being introduced over a 5 year period starting in 2012, to find out when it applies to your business click on this link http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/staging-date-timeline.aspx
  7. Employees can opt out but new Employment Rights will prevent employers from offering inducements to opt out and prohibit employers from anti pension recruitment policies and unfair dismissal relating to pension enrolment
  8. If the employee opts out the employer must automatically re-enrol them every 3 years
  9. The Pensions Regulator will have powers to issue compliance notices and fixed and escalating penalties increasing on a daily basis. Employees who blow the whistle on their employer will be protected under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998
  10. The following types of scheme will qualify
    • Defined Benefit Schemes
    • Defined Contribution Schemes
    • Hybrid Schemes
    • Contract Based DC Schemes
    • Stakeholder Pension Schemes

steve@bicknells.net