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Auto Enrolment
We have heard a number of our prospective customers ask “after 2012 will it be better to be using NEST or to extend my existing scheme to all of my employees?”
We consider that the first issue is not one of which product you use but how you manage compliance with the auto enrolment regime!
It is envisaged that every current eligible employee in the UK will have been auto-enrolled into a qualifying workplace pension scheme by the first quarter of 2016 and that new employers (established after April 2012) schemes will follow by the third quarter of 2018.
Each employer will eventually need to make pension contributions of at least 3% for all of their eligible employees who remain in their scheme, regardless of the scheme type. Where this level of contribution can be alarming for some businesses it can be phased in over time and minimised with careful tax planning.
The immediate problem will be managing auto-enrolment and all that comes with it. This, we believe may be the hidden cost of the new Pensions Act.
Lansdown Place Corporate Benefits offers specialist Independent Financial Advice in this area and can utilise the award winning Jargon Free Benefits system. We can help you plan and manage your duties, providing our expertise, guidance and technology to help you comply with the new regulations.
All existing workplace pension schemes will need to be assessed to ensure they are of a specified minimum standard by each employer’s respective implementation date. All employers without a qualifying workplace pension scheme need to set up and run one by their respective staging date.
Using the Jargon Free Benefits system, Lansdown Place Corporate Benefits can advise and help employers manage auto-enrolment along with many other employee benefits areas. We can work with existing or new qualifying workplace pension schemes and input a strategy for compliance by a company’s staging date. Implementation of this system will help you ensure compliance with the proposals contained within the Pensions Act 2008/2011.
Some questions you may want to ask yourself right now are, how you will manage:
- To administer auto enrolment in line with legislation:
- To produce a report to calculate minimum pension contributions
- To distinguish between your “eligible/non eligible jobholders and entitled workers” each month
- To facilitate communication between employee, employer and pension scheme to manage opt in/opt out cases in a timely fashion
- To facilitate the collection and reconciliation of auto-enrolment contributions
The key features of the Jargon Free Benefits System includes:-
- Managing pension Auto-Enrolment
- Publish and maintain scheme and HR data
- Desktop message alerts to all staff
- Email alerts and workflow management
- Financial modelling tools
- Management information on-demand
- Data upload and download with Excel
- Real-time integration with XML messaging
It is then, and only then, that we should begin to discuss with you which product your employees should be auto enrolled into!
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FAQs
Auto enrolment
Auto-Enrolment is the new Pension legislation that requires all companies to automatically enrol their eligible workers into an approved workplace pension and pay employer contributions. [watch video]
Auto enrolment and NEST
NEST is a brand new workplace pension scheme that gives members a single pension pot they can contribute to even if they change employers. [more]
Auto enrolment software
Jargon Free Benefits is a market leading system which will, amongst other things, manage your auto enrolment compliance and pension scheme registration with The Pension Regulator. For a short demonstration of how this might work, click here; [more]
My staging date
Your staging date is the date by which you must be ready to comply with the new auto enrolment regulations. Although some of these are yet to be confirmed an indication of the timeline for companies staging dates is attached. [more]
My employer duty
As an employer you must comply with the new regulations and understand where to start. The Pensions Regulator has provided a guide which you can access through this link however the corporate team at Lansdown Place will be happy to help you should you need assistance. [more]
The best way to inform employees
There will be numerous radio adverts and communications from the government over the next few months but feel free to look through the notes from The Pensions Regulator on this link for help. [more]
Qualifying pension contributions
Contributions are compulsory for employers and will be phased in as follows:
- From October 2012 – minimum 3% of qualifying earnings of which the employer must pay 1%
- From October 2016 – minimum 5% of qualifying earnings of which the employer must pay 2%
- From October 2017 – minimum 8% of qualifying earnings of which the employer must pay 3%
Auto enrolment regulations
The full details of how this legislation will be applied are yet to be 100% validated however details of the consultation as it currently stands can be found [here]