Is your Business Ready for Pensions Auto Enrolment?

Pensions Auto Enrolment continues to be rolled out for businesses throughout the UK. Businesses with 50 employees or fewer will now be needing to get their scheme in place, with larger companies having made the move to Auto Enrolment already.

Why is Auto Enrolment being introduced?

The UK still has a problem with people not saving enough for their retirement. With longer life expectancies, the state pension can no longer be relied upon as a sole source of income for retired people, so they are being urged to save all they can for their retirement. Auto Enrolment is a way that the government can get employers involved with the solution. Auto Enrolment means that almost all staff will need to be given the option to ‘opt in’ to a workplace pension scheme provided by their employer.That scheme must be in place by the ‘staging date’ given to them by the Pensions Regulator (a Government department).

What will this mean for employers?

The legislation will mean that by your staging date, you will need to have a qualifying workplace pension scheme in place. The impact for businesses though comes with the amount of groundwork required to ensure that your business is ready in time – many businesses have been working to a 9-month timescale. To be ready for your staging date, you will need to assess the eligibility of all staff (based on their age and salary), before finding a suitable scheme. You will also need to communicate details of your scheme to staff, and find out whether or not they wish to opt in to your scheme. Then, for those staff who opt-in, you will need to collect their contributions at source as part of your payroll process.

In short, there is much more to the process than many businesses realise – you can find out more in our Free Guide to Pensions Auto Enrolment.

Is Auto Enrolment compulsory?

It is compulsory to almost all UK businesses, with very few exceptions.

What will happen if I don’t comply?

If your scheme is not in place when your staging date arrives, you could be subjected to a fine for each day that you fail to comply, which has already happened to some businesses. Staging dates can be deferred, but only with prior approval from the Pensions Regulator.

How do I find out more?

If you need any help with Pensions Auto Enrolment, contact JM Glendinning Financial Services on 01943 876631, or visit their website.

Alternatively, you can request a copy of their Free Guide to Pensions Auto Enrolment, which tells you what your duties are, the steps you need to take to get a qualifying scheme in place, and more.