Pensions legislation has evolved at a rapid rate in the last few years. Now, under the Pensions Act 2008, every employer in the UK must put eligible workers into a qualifying workplace pension scheme and contribute towards it. This is called automatic enrolment.
If you employ at least one person, you are classed as an employer and have duties regarding workplace pensions.
If you're a new employer, this duty will commence from the moment your first employee joins your business.
Who is affected by auto-enrolment?
Employees who are working in the UK, earning over £10,000 per year, and aged 22 to state pension age must be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension.
Other staff will still have rights under the automatic enrolment scheme, so you will need to write to them individually to let them know what they are entitled to. Failure to make the correct contributions or issue the relevant communications is viewed as a failure to comply with your employer obligations and can result in fines and penalties from The Pensions Regulator.
How can Abco help you manage your workplace pension schemes?
Though it can be tempting to manage auto enrolment in-house, it makes a great deal of sense to outsource this important task to a company that specialises in setting up and managing workplace pensions. Payroll is the function that's best suited to this.
The team here at Abco works closely with pension providers and independent financial advisors (IFAs) to take away much of the administrative burden and enrol your employees into the correct pensions right away. Every time you pay your staff, we will monitor their ages and earnings to make sure any required changes are managed in line with pension legislation.
Please contact us for more information on how Abco can guide you through the minefield of workplace pension obligations.
