The UK government is implementing pension reforms that will require employers to automatically enroll eligible employees into a qualifying pension scheme and make contributions on their behalf. Under the reforms, employers will stage when their duties begin between 2012-2018 depending on company size. Employers must put systems in place before their staging date to comply with automatic enrollment legislation.
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Get important insights about personal income tax and different tax regimes from our expert by clicking below to view the complete webinar recording. https://register.gotowebinar.com/recording/1177836845744105229
Listen to our expert and understand all about the economic benefits, concessions, and loans offered by the government to boost your business in times of distress.
Click below to get the complete recording of our expert series webinar. https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/7576708646243569936
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The affordable care act or ACA is impacting employers and businesses different ways. Hear from our experts how the specifics of the ACA when it comes to offering health insurance the communication required and other obligations employers have or face hefty penalties.
This webinar is eligible for HRCI recertification credit. Visit http://b4j.com/hrciwebinars & register to get PHR, SPHR & GPHR cert credits free.
During his presentation 'Pension Freedoms' Sam will consider
Building another business.
How to ensure you are in control of your money.
His message will be that you can take money out of your business without liability to any taxes and pop it into a 'pension wrapper'.
Slides from a presentation given by Will Lovegrove at the CIPP / AAT event (3rd March 2016) on "automatic enrolment for agents". It summarises the tactics and strategies currently employed by successful payroll agents to efficiently administer AE for their clients. Including:
- Service Design
- Service Pricing
- Choosing a pension scheme
- Choosing software
Three presentations looking at the things to consider when taking on your first employee, or moving from being self-employed to an employer.
Accountancy and tax pitfalls
HR and legal considerations
PAYE
Making your employees your brand ambassadors and examples of where it works
Australia Increases Super (Superannuation Guarantee), the Required Employer R...Nair and Co.
The Australian government has announced significant changes to the Super regime. Super contributions will eventually increase to 12% by 2020, reports Nair & Co.’s International HR Team.
The Inside Scoop on the Affordable Care Act for Employers Today Workology
The affordable care act or ACA is impacting employers and businesses different ways. Hear from our experts how the specifics of the ACA when it comes to offering health insurance the communication required and other obligations employers have or face hefty penalties.
This webinar is eligible for HRCI recertification credit. Visit http://b4j.com/hrciwebinars & register to get PHR, SPHR & GPHR cert credits free.
During his presentation 'Pension Freedoms' Sam will consider
Building another business.
How to ensure you are in control of your money.
His message will be that you can take money out of your business without liability to any taxes and pop it into a 'pension wrapper'.
Slides from a presentation given by Will Lovegrove at the CIPP / AAT event (3rd March 2016) on "automatic enrolment for agents". It summarises the tactics and strategies currently employed by successful payroll agents to efficiently administer AE for their clients. Including:
- Service Design
- Service Pricing
- Choosing a pension scheme
- Choosing software
Three presentations looking at the things to consider when taking on your first employee, or moving from being self-employed to an employer.
Accountancy and tax pitfalls
HR and legal considerations
PAYE
Making your employees your brand ambassadors and examples of where it works
If you're a small business owner and worried about the new pension rules and regulations this comprehensive guide will help you set-up and manage your new auto-enrolment workplace pension scheme.
An Introduction to Auto Enrolment by Qtac
Be confident with:
Work Place Pensions
Auto Enrolment
The Pensions Regulator
Pension Providers
Auto Enrolment Functionality in QTAC Payroll
Planning for Success
What is Auto Enrolment?
‘Workplace Pension Reform’ is the term used to describe the changes to pensions in the UK, where employees are automatically enrolled into an ‘Automatic Enrolment’ pension scheme, as long as they ‘qualify’.
A workplace pension, which is arranged by the employer, is a way for employees to save for retirement. Some workplace pensions are also called ‘occupational’, ‘works’, ‘company’ or ‘work-based’ pensions.
If a company already has a pension scheme they will need to check that it ‘qualifies’ if their plan is to use that scheme as their ‘Workplace Pension’.
Companies who do not currently have a pension scheme setup will need to set up an ‘Auto Enrolment’ scheme. The pension scheme must ‘qualify’ - meaning the employee and employer contributions match or exceed the minimum contributions (detailed later in this document) and also that no restrictions are placed on membership.
Every company will be required to offer employees the chance to join a pension scheme, which both the ‘employee’ and ‘employer’ will contribute in to. The employer has to contribute at least the minimum contribution into the scheme in order for the scheme to qualify.
In most cases the government also add money into the pension scheme in the form of tax relief.
Employees need to be automatically enrolled if they:
Are aged between 22 and State Pension Age
Earn more than £10000 a year (2014/15 limit)
Work in the UK
If a company does not have a qualifying pension scheme then it must introduce one. If the employer doesn’t currently make a contribution to the pension, they will have to by law when they ‘automatically enrol’ entitled workers.
Employers are responsible for ensuring they have a compliant pension scheme in place and that the correct employees and employers contributions are paid into the scheme.
One Year in into the Pension Reform
More than 750,000 members
Over 2,350 employers
Opt outs around 8 per cent
Staging Dates
Each company will have their own staging date, your auto enrolment staging date is determined by the size of your PAYE scheme on the 1st April 2012. Staging dates will be staggered, with larger employers starting sooner and small employers starting later.
How do I find it out? Visit The Pensions Regulators website
Use the Staging Date Calculator
www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/
A company can choose to move it’s staging date to an earlier date but it cannot be moved to a later one.
A pension scheme can be setup for employees at any time. You do not have to wait until auto enrolment is introduced.
We recommend that you give yourself plenty of time to prepare for auto enrolment.
Automatic Enrolment functionality has been elegantly integrated into Qtac. Setting up your pension scheme, enrolling employees, issuing communication, making contributions and viewing reports – it's all seamless and simple.
Employees need to be automatically enrolled if they:
Are aged between 22 and State Pension Age
Earn more than £10,000 a year (2014/15 limit)
Work in the UK
If a company does not have a qualifying pension scheme then it must introduce one. If the employer doesn’t currently make a contribution to the pension, they will have to by law when they ‘automatically enrol’ entitled workers.
Your clients are responsible for ensuring they have a compliant pension scheme in place and that the correct employees and employers contributions are paid into the scheme.
What’s the reason for auto enrolment? The average life span has increased and people are living a lot longer. These changes to pensions are because the current state pension will just not be sufficient when retiring and therefore trying to encourage people to save for retirement.
Jobholders
Eligible jobholder
The employer must
automatically enrol and make contributions
if using postponement, provide a notification to the eligible jobholder
process any opt-out notice
automatically re-enrol approximately every three years
keep records of the automatic enrolment process
Non-eligible jobholder
The employer must
arrange pension scheme membership if the non-eligible jobholder decides to opt-in, and also make contributions
provide information about the right to opt-in, unless using postponement
if using postponement, the employer must provide a notification to the non-eligible jobholder & keep records of the enrolment process
Entitled worker
The employer must:
arrange pension scheme membership if the entitled worker decides to join
provide information about the right to join, unless using postponement
if using postponement, provide a notification to the entitled worker
keep records of the joining process
A clients choice of automatic enrolment pension scheme could have an impact on the payroll processing time and costs involved.
Some of your clients may have an existing scheme, in this scenario they should ascertain with their pension provider whether it meets automatic enrolment requirements and is therefore classed as a qualifying scheme.
Health Care Reform Strategies for Small Employers:
• Health Care Tax Credits and Penalties
• The Recently Delayed Pay or Play Mandate
• Health Insurance Exchanges
• SHOPs
• Other Cost-Savings Opportunities
• Strategic Decision Making for Large and Small Employers
• And more!
We’ve compiled a list of questions that we’re commonly asked by our clients about automatic enrolment, and answered them on the following slides.
From 'What is automatic enrolment,and does it apply to me?' to 'How do I choose the right pension supplier?' you'll find the most frequently asked questions - and the answers you need.
ARE YOU READY ?
EMAIL brianboyd.thefinancialfactory@live.co.uk
Upcoming dates
PAYE Scheme Size
Staging Date
60
1 Oct 2014
59
1 Nov 2014
58
1 Jan 2015
54-57
1 March 2015
50-53
1 April 2015
40-49
1 August 2015
30-39
1 October 2015
Fewer than 30
1 June 2015 - 1 April 2017
Employers without PAYE
1 April 2017
New employers
1 May 2017 - 1 Feb 2018
A detailed guide of the regulations facing UK employers dealing with workplace pension auto enrolment. This guide gives a valuable insight into what must be done to ensure your processes are both compliant and legal.
1. Pension reform means that employers will have a duty to make pension provision
of a qualifying standard for their staff. This will apply from a ‘staging date’ between
2012 and 2018. This staging date depends on company size.
Which staff are affected?
Pension changes mean that employers will have to make pension provision for their staff who:
• Are not already in a qualifying pension scheme
• Are at least 22 years old
• Have not yet reached State Pension age
• Earn more than the minimum earnings trigger
• Work or ordinarily work in the UK.
Employers will need to automatically enrol eligible employees into a qualifying pension
scheme. They will also need to make pension payments for them. Employees can opt-out
but they must be automatically re-enrolled approximately every three years.
Other staff can choose to opt-in to the scheme, however employers only have to make
payments for them if they earn over a set level.
What does your business have to do?
Before your staging date, you’ll need to have systems and procedures in place to comply
with the new legislation. You will have to make arrangements to include most of your
employees in a qualifying pension scheme, and make payments for them.
We can help you meet your duties in a way that reduces your administrative burden,
minimises the changes you must make and provides a better enrolment experience for
your staff.
The legislation is being introduced in stages, depending on your staging date. They
start in October 2012 with the very largest employers, gradually rolling out to cover all
employers.
What is the staging date?
It’s the date when your duty to enrol eligible staff into a qualifying pension scheme begins.
There are a number of key staging dates between 2012 and 2018, and your date depends
on the size of your company. Staging begins in October 2012 for large companies and
will be rolled out over the following months and years for all other companies. You can
bring forward the date set for you or defer it for up to three months. This provides some
flexibility to choose a date that better suits the needs of your business.
“The impact of the Government’s
Pension Reforms on UK employers of
all sizes cannot be over estimated.
We would urge all employers to
review their current pension
arrangements and make appropriate
provisions.
We are happy to provide our clients
an initial no obligation audit of their
current arrangements which will
include a detailed cost analysis of the
implications of the changes.”
Rob Cresswell
Managing Director
Contact Us
To find out more now, contact our
pensions team on 0161 643 7078
Email enquiries@rwcltd.co.uk
or, email me directly at
robcresswell@rwcltd.co.uk
What is pension reform?
Possibly the biggest change to company pensions ever!
RWC Corporate Benefits
Corporate Financial Planning
rwcltd.co.uk
2. Registered Office: RWC House, 282 Heywood Old Road, Middleton M24 4QG
RWC Corporate Benefits Ltd is registered in England & Wales No. 7856546
RWC Corporate Benefits Ltd is an appointed representative of Rice Whatmough Crozier LLP
which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
RWC Corporate Benefits
Corporate Financial Planning
How much do you have to pay into your employees pensions?
When auto-enrolment is first introduced, the minimum contribution will be 2% of qualifying earnings. As an employer, you will
have to pay a minimum of 1%. Longer term, it will be 8% in total (minimum employer payment 3%).
You can use an alternative earnings basis to calculate payments, as long as these minimums are met.
You can base payments on your usual pensionable pay definition, rather than band earnings. However you will need to certify
that this meets an alternative standard. The alternative standards will be phased in and by 2018 will range from 7% of total
pay to 9% of basic pay.
What’s a Qualifying Workplace Pension Scheme (“QWPS”)
A qualifying pension scheme is one which:
• Allows you and your employees make at least the minimum pension payments
• Allows employees automatically enrol as members
• Offers a default investment fund, for employees who prefer not to make investment decisions
If your current scheme meets these criteria, you may be able to use it. You could also use the new pension scheme NEST
(National Employment Savings Trust) to meet your new obligations – or use it alongside your current scheme. You’re not
restricted to using a single scheme; you can use different ones for different parts of your workforce.
Minimum employer payment Minimum total payment
Up to 30 September 2017 1% 2%
From 1 October 2017 2% 5%
From 1 October 2018 3% 8%
Pensionable pay Minimum employer payment Minimum total payment
Total pay 3% 7%
At least 85% of total pay 3% 8%
Basic pay 4% 9%
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Pensions can be a complex area and it is important that you seek professional
independent financial advice before making any investment decisions.
Do you currently offer pension
arrangements for employees?
NO
Is the Government’s NEST suitable?
YES
Does it meet the requirements to
become a Qualifying Workplace
Pension Scheme?
NO
Create/Subscribe to QWPS
NO
Amend Pension Scheme or create
QWPS/Subscribe to NEST
YES
Subscribe to NEST
YES
Continue to use current
Pension Scheme