Employers are gearing up for start of auto-enrolment duties in October 2012. Around half (54% of the UK’s largest employers (5000+ workers) say they have confirmed their provider(s) for auto-enrolment according to latest Nest research. A further 34% have a ‘good idea’ of the...
It looks like there will be more paperwork for trustees to do, with the arrival of auto-enrolment warns Lesley Browning, Norton Rose
learly, auto-enrolment is primarily an obligation of employers who employ "eligible jobholders", but there are still a number of issues which trustees will need to consider and agree with employers in advance of the employer’s staging date. HM Revenue & Customs and the Pensions...
Stacy O’Sullivan, Lane Clark & Peacock, takes us through the steps for opting in and out
Not all employees will want to be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme and so it is possible for them to opt out, but only after being automatically enrolled. However, if an eligible jobholder opts out, they must be automatically re-enrolled into an auto-enrolment scheme every three years....
In the light of auto-enrolment, trustees need to look again at their default design suggests Saqib Hussain, PricewaterhouseCoopers
With the introduction of auto-enrolment, one of the biggest challenges that trustees are going to face is ensuring that their default investment option (DIO) continues to be suitable for members.
A key principle of auto-enrolment is that employees must not be forced to make any investment...
Phil Daniels, Capita Hartshead, on how to work out who is an “eligible jobholder”
The question of who needs to be auto-enrolled is commonly raised by employers and many have been surprised by the answer. Why? Because most employers thought that the rules would be relatively simple and that it would be easy to set up, administer and work out the costs involved.
However, even...
Guy Winter, Towers Watson, on auto-enrolment and DC governance
One of the clearest messages coming out of Towers Watson’s 2012 DC Governance survey is that most sponsoring employers are looking to use their existing defined contribution (DC) arrangement for auto-enrolling eligible employees not in a pension scheme. Only a minority are looking to set up a...
Millions of workers could be put off saving into a pension unless changes are made to auto-enrolment requirements for part time workers, says Bluefin Corporate Consulting.
Official data shows that in the final quarter of 2011 the number of part time workers grew by 60,000 to reach 6.61m in total,...
Millions of workers could be put off saving into a pension unless changes are made to auto-enrolment requirements for part time workers, says Bluefin Corporate Consulting.
Official data shows that in the final quarter of 2011 the number of part time workers grew by 60,000 to reach 6.61m in total,...
More than a million low-paid women could lose out on employer pension contributions as the government’s The Automatic enrolment earnings thresholds review and revision 2012/2013 has raised the new earnings threshold for pension auto-enrolment.
Employers and employees will pay...
The Pensions Management Institute (PMI) has entered into a partnership with Capita Hartshead to offer specialist auto-enrolment support. This follows a recent survey by the National Association of Pension Funds, which found that a third of employees eligible for automatic enrolment will choose to...
Mark Bondi, Bluefin Group, considers how to comply with the new employer duties of auto-enrolment with regard to secondments
Employers are increasingly waking up to the fact that complying with the new employer duties will be more onerous than previously anticipated. The new duties apply to the whole of an employer’s workforce and include not only auto-enrolment, but also the right for jobholders to opt into a...
Finally the message seems to be filtering through of the important changes ahead for pensions says Gavin Zaprzala-Banks, Punter Southall
A few weeks ago I was at my children’s school for one of the many productions that are put on during the course of the year. The gathered grown-ups all stood patiently in line, making small talk as we waited to be shepherded into the hall. Conversation moved onto the subject of work and one...
Andrew Cheseldine, Lane Clark & Peacock, details the requirements for opting in
This month we look at the topic of the requirements surrounding members opting into pension scheme membership. There are three main categories of employee who can opt in to pension scheme membership, each of which must be treated slightly differently (for instance, receiving an opt in notice as...
The Department for Work and Pensions has issued a consultation paper today on the changes to the automatic enrolment implementation timetable for employers with less than 250 workers in their PAYE scheme and to the arrangements for phasing of minimum contributions affecting all employers.
The...
The government should lift two key restrictions on the operation of the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) as a matter of urgency, says a parliamentary report from its Work and Pensions Select Committee.
The government established Nest as a low-cost pension scheme to help deliver the auto-...
Detail on the delays to the auto-enrolment implementation timetable
In November 2011, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced its decision to adjust the implementation schedule for auto-enrolment into workplace pension schemes. This was followed in January by the release of the final timetable, which set out further details of the proposed delay for...
Andrew Cheseldine, Lane Clark & Peacock, details the process of opting out
Most of the focus of auto-enrolment is, understandably, on eligible jobholders – those who need to be auto-enrolled and the contributions that need to be paid on their behalf.
In the early years at least, much of the administrative complexity and communication focus will be on those eligible...
One in seven (14%) employers in the voluntary sector is still completely in the dark when it comes to auto-enrolment and their responsibilities towards employees, according to The Pensions Trust’s research.
Over 700 voluntary sector organisations and social enterprises employing over 98...
The Pensions Regulator has updated its detailed guidance on auto-enrolment and the new employer duties under pensions reform, for large employers and their advisers.
The detailed guidance, which forms part of the regulator’s suite of educational materials for all UK employers, has been...
The Department for Work and Pensions has published its response to the consultation on the final regulations to implement the auto-enrolment regime today (1 February).
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “These are the final building blocks in the pensions auto-enrolment regime....
