The Government estimates that around seven million people in the UK are currently not saving enough for their retirement. So from October 2012 they’re introducing new legislation to get more people saving for their future. This will mean that every employer in the UK will have to automatically enrol certain employees into a pension scheme and make contributions on their behalf. Exactly what you will need to do is dependent on whether your employees are classified as a ‘worker’ under the new legislation. There are three different categories of worker, determined by their age and how much they earn. You will have different responsibilities for each category, known as your employer duties. We want to help you understand and prepare for the changes you will have to make.
These new employer duties will be introduced in stages starting in October 2012. The date your duties apply is known as your staging date and it’s based on the number of people in your largest Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme on 1 April 2012. Larger employers will generally have their staging date earlier than smaller employers.
You must register that you have an automatic enrolment scheme in place with The Pensions Regulator (TPR) by at least four months after your staging date. You’ll also have to re-register every three years. The good news is if you have an existing pension scheme, you can use this to meet your employer duties as long as it meets certain criteria.
We are pension’s specialists and have a proven track record in designing solutions to meet your and your employees’ needs. We recognise that automatic enrolment poses a considerable challenge to your business. You’ll need to introduce a range of new processes, record keeping and reporting requirements, to comply with your employer duties, so advanced planning is vital.
The quicker you act the more time you’ll have to consider your options and adopt the most appropriate strategy for your business. While it’s likely your operational costs will rise, the decisions you make now will help you to manage these costs. We want to work with you and your employees to help you understand and prepare for the changes you will have to make.
We’re working with providers who are developing a range of tools and support material to help you meet your employer duties both now and in the future.
Thank you Paul Gregory for all of your excellent advice, support and professionalism. From start to finish, you have made it a stress free process.
D. O'Toole, mortgage client
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