Auto enrolment
Auto enrolment is the new pension regime from government which will impact on virtually every business in the UK.
It places the responsibility on the employer to enrol their staff into a pension saving scheme and to re-enrol those who opt out every three years.
The government’s aim is to tackle the significant pension saving gap in the UK with a strategy which encourages workers to save for their retirement. It is estimated that there are currently over 10 million people who have either have inadequate or zero pension provision. Importantly, auto enrolment doesn’t allow those who opt out to simply fall out of the pension saving system and the government believe this will be part of the new legislation’s success.
For any Managing or Human Resources Director, auto enrolment is an unavoidable issue. It means reviewing your existing pension arrangements, it may mean changing the type of pension scheme you offer and is likely to require you change the way you currently administer plans. For those who employ temporary staff or have employee numbers peak because of seasonal work, auto enrolment can be an even more complicated issue.
There is an obligation for employers to contribute into the pension saving scheme and there are likely to be cost implications in implementing the new legislation. For many businesses this in itself needs forward planning and preparation.
What is important is that all employers act now. This means taking advice from an employee benefit expert who can work with you to prepare for the changes and ensure you meet the company’s specified ‘staging date’, an enforcement date which is dictated by your number of employees as at 1st April 2012.
English Mutual has a specialist team of highly skilled and experienced employee benefit advisers who can work with you to integrate auto enrolment into your business. Not only are they able to guide you on the right schemes, our team will, where appropriate, take care of arranging the new pension plans and communicate the changes to your staff.
Our Employee Benefits consultants host a number of seminars throughout the year which cover a wide range of topics, including about the new pension regime. Click here to find out more about our seminars, alternatively, if you would like to arrange for a meeting with one of our consultants click here.