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This is a pivotal moment in time for automatic enrolment as a number of new changes are happening that payroll bureaus need to understand. This year we will see the first increase to the legal total minimum contributions which comes into effect on the 6th of April 2018. The total minimum contributions will increase from 2% to 5%. Both employers and employees will be required to increase their contributions towards the pension pot.
The evolving automatic enrolment landscape
We will see the last employers reaching their auto enrolment staging date. What does this mean for new employers who start to employ staff? Will auto enrolment apply? Automatic re-enrolment is also in full swing where we have seen the larger employers re-enrol employees and complete their re-declaration of compliance.
BrightPay has created this webinar to give you an insight into how these changes will affect your clients and your payroll processing.
Agenda
Auto Enrolment & New Employers
Increasing Minimum Contributions
Integration between payroll & pension providers
Re-Enrolment & Re-Declaration of Compliance
How BrightPay Automates Auto Enrolment
Introduction to BrightPay Connect
1. 17/04/2018
1
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The evolving automatic enrolment landscape -
The evolving automatic
enrolment landscape
By Karen Bennett
Marketing Manager
at BrightPay
-
CPD Accredited
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Webinar Agenda
Auto Enrolment &
New Employers
Increasing Minimum
Contributions
Integration between
payroll & pension
providers
Re-Enrolment & Re-
Declaration of
Compliance
How BrightPay
Automates Auto
Enrolment
Introduction to
BrightPay Connect
2. 17/04/2018
2
-Auto Enrolment & New Employers
Auto Enrolment & New Employers
• Before now, a staging date indicated the start of an employers auto
enrolment responsibilities
• From 1st October 2017, new employers are affected by AE instantly
• Duties start date: The date that the first member of staff starts
work which kick-starts when the auto enrolment duties begin
• Employers must be ready to comply with AE as soon as the first
employee begins employment
Auto Enrolment & New Employers
• Once registered as an employer with HMRC, an employer must
inform TPR of point of contact and choose a suitable pension
scheme
Auto Enrolment & New Employers
• Employees must be assessed to determine if they need to be
automatically enrolled
• Eligible jobholders must be enrolled into a qualifying auto enrolment
pension scheme
• Employer & employee must make contributions to the scheme
• New employers are required to comply with the total minimum
contribution rate at that time
• Postponement can still be availed of
3. 17/04/2018
3
-Increasing Minimum Contributions
Increasing Minimum Contributions
• There are two stages to the increase in minimum contributions,
which has been described as phasing
Total must be at least
(% of qualifying earnings)
Employer must contribute
(% of qualifying earnings)
October 2012 to 5 April 2018 2% 1%
6 April 2018 to 5 April 2019 5% 2%
6 April 2019 onwards 8% 3%
Increasing Minimum Contributions
• Employers can choose to contribute more than the minimum
contribution if they wish
• Employees must contribute the remainder to make up the total
minimum contribution
• Employers can choose to pay total minimum contribution,
i.e. no employee contribution
Increasing Minimum Contributions
• Salary sacrifice agreements - employees’ contracts of
employment may need to be reviewed and amended as a result
of phasing
• Example: Employees’ current contract of employment states that
they will sacrifice 1% of their salary in return for the employer to
pay the equivalent amount into the pension scheme along with
their own 1% employer contribution
4. 17/04/2018
4
Increasing Minimum Contributions
• You must know when and how much to deduct from April 2018
and April 2019
• Payroll software should automatically prompt you when the
increases need to be implemented
• Increased contributions are required to be processed on the first
pay date after 6th April
Increasing Minimum Contributions
• It is not a mandatory requirement to inform or write to staff
about the increases in minimum contributions
• Best practice would be to clearly communicate with employees
to let them know before the increase takes place
• This will help minimise confusion and reduce queries
• TPR has a sample letter template available to give to employees
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Integration between Payroll
& Pension Systems
Auto Enrolment & New Employers
• Some providers have enabled direct integration
• This allows payroll and pension systems to communicate with
each other
• Eliminates the need to export and save the data file to the PC
and manually upload the data
• With integration, data can be sent directly to the pension
provider at the click of a button
5. 17/04/2018
5
Auto Enrolment & New Employers
• Useful for bureaus with a number of clients – reduces errors and
workload
• NEST, Aviva & Smart Pension
• Other NEST APIs – validate groups and payment sources &
approve payments from within BrightPay
• Streamlines setup and ongoing tasks when using NEST
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Re-Enrolment &
Re-Declaration of Compliance
Automatic Re-Enrolment
• Duties vary depending on whether you have staff to enrol
• Employer choose their enrolment date from a 6 month window:
3 months either side of the third anniversary of the staging date
• Employers can align re-enrolment with the company’s financial
year or avoid seasonal peaks
• The re-enrolment date applies to all staff & postponement
cannot be used
Automatic Re-Enrolment
• At re-enrolment, certain employees must be re-assessed
• Previously opted out
• Voluntarily ceased active membership of a qualifying scheme
6. 17/04/2018
6
Automatic Re-Enrolment
• You must enrol anyone who:
• Left the pension scheme more than 12 months before re-enrolment
• Aged 22 to state pension age
• Earns over the earnings threshold (currently £10,000 per annum)
Automatic Re-Enrolment
• You have the option to enrol various employees:
• Directors
• Partner in a Limited Liability Partnership
• Left the scheme within 12 months of the re-enrolment date
• Given notice of the end of their employment
Automatic Re-Enrolment
• These employees must be put back into a pension scheme
within 6 weeks of the re-enrolment date
• Must write to enrolled employees to inform them that they
have been re-enrolled
• Communication must be completed within 6 weeks of the re-
enrolment date
• You do not have to write to other employees
Re-Declaration of Compliance
• All employers must complete the re-declaration of compliance
• This must be completed even if no employees have been
re-enrolled
• Informs the Pensions Regulator that you have complied with
your re-enrolment duties
• Payroll software should be able to handle re-enrolment