Archive for the ‘Auto Enrolment’ Category

Don’t get caught out with Auto Enrolment

Wednesday, March 9th, 2016

Up to 500,000 small and micro employers are due to stage in 2016, with 87,000 filing Declarations of Compliance in January 2016.

The Pension Regulator has issued nearly fifteen hundred £400 fines, during the period October to December 2015. The Regulator has issued the following statement:

“Our research shows that most employers want to do the right thing by their staff but that smaller employers are more likely to leave things to the last minute. They therefore need a “nudge” to encourage them to meet their duties.

A minority still don’t comply after receiving a notice of non-compliance, but many do after receiving a fixed penalty of £400. As we deal with smaller employers, it is expected there will be more who, despite the message to prepare early, leave it too late or don’t act at all. We take this very seriously….”

The Regulator tells us that one of the main reasons for failure to comply is that employers felt that their advisor (us the Accountants) should have known to complete the information on their behalf.

Don’t get caught out…

This is one of the reasons why we have teamed up with local pensions specialists Richard Jacobs to hold a number of Auto Enrolment workshops that aim to introduce Auto Enrolment to local employers.

Click here to learn more and to book onto our next workshop on the 17th March

 

 

 

Workplace Pensions and Auto Enrolment

Monday, February 1st, 2016

A workplace pension is a way of saving for your retirement that’s arranged by your employer.

Up until recently not all employers had to offer ‘work place pensions’, however the law on workplace pensions has changed and every employer with at least one member of staff now has new duties; they must automatically enrol workers into a workplace pension scheme and contribute to it if they meet the following criteria:

  • are aged between 22 and State Pension age
  • earn more than £10,000 a year
  • work in the UK

This is called ‘automatic enrolment’.

It’s called ‘automatic enrolment’ because it is automatic for staff – they don’t have to do anything to be enrolled into a pension scheme, but it is not automatic for employers.

Click here for some:Auto Enrolment Key Facts

Does automatic enrolment apply to you?

All employers will need to work out if automatic enrolment applies to them. However if you are an employer and have at least one member of staff who is paid via a PAYE scheme, then yes automatic enrolment duties apply to you.

What is Auto Enrolment?

You will now have to set up and offer a workplace pension to your employees. However do not panic if you haven’t already done this, you may not need to just yet.

When this law was introduced the Pensions Regulator rolled it out using a phased approached, called Staging Dates.

An employer’s staging date is determined by the number of people in the largest PAYE scheme that they use, based on the data from HM Revenue and Customs held by them on 1 April 2012.

How do you check your staging date?

The Pensions Regulator offer a staging date calculator to check  All you will need is your PAYE reference.

Click here for some additional information on the stages of setting up:Auo Enrolment

Getting the help that you need.

As Accountants it is our role to support and inform our clients about Auto Enrolment. As there is also an implication on any payroll services, where applicable we are also obligated to offer support in this area.
Jacobs Logo

To support our clients with understanding the options for them, we have teamed up with local pension and investment specialists Richard Jacobs, and have worked together to offer a short workshops on the topic.

To learn more about Auto Enrolment here are some Key Facts

 

We want to extend our support to other businesses in and around our area by inviting any employers who have not yet set up their workplace pensions along to one of our workshops.

Our workshop is designed to:

  • Provide you with an overview of what you need to know about Auto Enrolment and covers:
    • What is it.
    • Why you need to do it
    • How much it will cost you.
    • Which pension schemes are available.
  • Give you an overview of how Auto Enrolment will impact you from a payroll perspective
  • Give you an opportunity to discuss your requirements in more detail

 

Book your place

 

 

 

 

This short workshop is purely to offer and advice and make you aware of what you need to know. Whilst there will be opportunity to discuss your business at the workshop with both the Slaters and Jacobs teams, a full detailed discussion would need to take place individually.
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References:

https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions/about-workplace-pensions

https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/automatic-enrolment-guide-for-business-advisers.aspx

Work Place Pensions and Auto Enrolment

Thursday, November 5th, 2015

The Department of Work and Pensions and the Pensions Regulator have launched a new advertising campaign promoting auto enrolment which aims to change the country’s perception of pensions in the workplace.

Workie, ‘a striking physical embodiment of the workplace pension’, will be seen visiting people in different work environments over the coming months, asking them not to ignore him.

The advertisements come with a message, whilst automatic enrolment into workplace pensions has been rolling out across the UK since 2012, it is only now that 1.8 million small and micro employers need to act. In a phased process over the next three years, every employer will have to enrol their eligible staff into a pension scheme, by reference to their staging date.

Pensions Minister, Baroness Altmann, said:

‘We have made great strides forward by automatically enrolling more than 5 million people into a workplace pension – now the challenge is to make sure hardworking people with every type of employer get to enjoy this major financial benefit.

This is a fun and quirky campaign but behind it lies a very serious message. We need everyone to know they are entitled to a workplace pension – and we need all employers to understand their legal responsibility to their staff, but also to feel more positive about engaging with workplace pensions.

This government is committed to providing security for working people at every stage of their lives, and that includes giving people the chance to plan for a financially secure retirement. Automatic enrolment is a big part of that.

Since 2012, more than 5.4 million workers have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension by almost 61,000 employers. By the time the process is complete in 2018, it is estimated that around 9 million workers will either be newly saving or saving more into a workplace pension thanks to the policy.

The new campaign will include radio, print, online and outdoor advertising and will run for the remainder of this year and into 2016. It is being coordinated jointly by the Department for Work and Pensions and The Pensions Regulator.’

 

Getting you ready for Auto Enrolment

Slaters have teamed up with local pension and investment specialists Richard Jacobs to offer Slaters clients more information on Auto Enrolment.

Our next workshop on Auto Enrolment will be in February 2016*.

The workshop will start at 9.00am until approx. 11.30am, and is designed to :

  • Provide you with all you need to know about Auto Enrolment
  • Take you through 9 easy steps to get you prepared
  • Give you an opportunity to discuss your requirements in more detail

Click here to register your interest

Auto Enrolment guidance for small employers

Tuesday, April 7th, 2015

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has launched a new step-by-step guide to help small businesses get ready for their automatic enrolment duties.

According to TPR the online guide has been written specifically for employers with between one and 50 staff.

The guide which is broken down into 11 steps, considers the legal requirements and what employers need to do to comply with their obligations.

Executive director for automatic enrolment Charles Counsell said:

‘We are determined to do all we can to reach out to all small and micro businesses preparing for their automatic enrolment duties. We want to make the process as simple as possible so that employers can avoid the risk of non compliance.’

‘Our new online 11-step guide is a key part of a wide package of measures we are rolling out to give more than a million employers all the information they need, written and produced in a way they makes sense to them.’

‘Our message to employers is ensure you know when your automatic enrolment duties begin and start planning in good time. The regulator’s website should be the first port of call for all employers and their advisers as it offers essential information about each task an employer will need to accomplish in order to comply and avoid penalties.’

Click here to view the step-by-step guide

If you would like help with Auto Enrolment please do get in touch.

 

Fines for non compliance with Pension Auto Enrolment

Tuesday, March 10th, 2015

Fines for those who fail to comply with Pensions Auto Enrolment

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has issued 166 Fixed Penalty Notices of £400 to employers who failed to meet their obligations in the last quarter of 2014.

The number of employers approaching the date when they must confirm that they have complied with new workplace pensions duties (known as a declaration of compliance) is now beginning to rise significantly as Auto enrolment is rolled out across all employers. In future months, TPR expects to see more employers who, despite the message to prepare early, leave it too late or do not comply at all.

The Pensions Regulator’s Director of automatic enrolment, Charles Counsell, said,

‘My message to all employers is that failing to declare within five months of your staging date means you risk being fined, which is why we recommend you start your automatic enrolment planning and preparation 12 months before staging.

It appears some medium employers waited for a prompt from the regulator before completing their automatic enrolment duties. Employers must complete all their duties including making their declaration of compliance to The Pensions Regulator.’

Experience to date also shows that employers should begin gathering the information they need to complete their declaration of compliance well in advance of their deadline.

If you would like help or advice with auto enrolment please get in touch.

New rules to safeguard value for money in workplace pensions

Thursday, February 12th, 2015

From April, people automatically enrolled into a workplace pension will see their charges capped at 0.75%, unless they have chosen a more expensive option. The details are set out in draft regulations laid before Parliament on 4 February 2015.

For an average earner currently paying into a fund with a charge of 1.5%, this new cap could save them around £100,000 over the course of their working life. Over the next decade, the default fund charge cap will transfer around £200 million from the pensions industry to savers.

Minister for Pensions Steve Webb said:

Today is an excellent day for pension savers. It is vital that workplace pension schemes are run in the interests of their members and that their hard-earned savings are not eaten away by excessive charges.

Over 5 million people have now been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension and by 2018 millions more will be saving for the first time, or saving more. This is why we are building a pensions system that these workers can save into with confidence – and not see their money disappear in opaque charging structures.

There is an understandable buzz around what April will bring for those retiring now, with the unprecedented pension freedoms coming in. But these reforms show we are also determined to help the pensioners of tomorrow – people working hard and saving hard for their families’ future.

The next stage of the government’s work to ensure full disclosure of costs and charges throughout the value chain is also set out in the February paper – with the plan to publish a joint call for evidence with the Financial Conduct Authority in spring 2015.

Most of the updated draft regulations will come in to force on 6 April 2015, subject to Parliamentary approval.