Background
As you will be aware the Government have introduced regulations requiring all employers to enrol all staff in a workplace pension scheme.
The date by which employers need to have completed this process, known as the “staging” date, is determined by the number of employees; the larger the number the earlier the “staging” date.
We are now approaching the “staging” dates for smaller employers i.e. those with less than 30 employees. As this category represents the largest number of employers, these dates are spread between now and 1 April 2017.
Later dates can apply to businesses that only became employers after the end of March 2012.
Your specific “staging” date can be found online at The Pensions Regulator using your PAYE reference and you can enrol sooner if so wished.
Employer’s responsibility – phase 1
Phase 1
Whilst the “staging” date may seem some considerable time away, there are several planning steps that need to be taken beforehand, including the following:
- Classification of your workforce
- Appropriate communication with each employee
- Checking if any existing scheme qualifies, or could be altered to qualify
- Setting up a new pension scheme using a pension provider or the NEST scheme set up by the Government specifically for this purpose
- Establishing systems to comply with ongoing requirements
- Declaration of compliance (registration).
The Government have established a severe penalties regime for those not enrolled by their staging date, starting at £400 and increasing on a daily basis.
Employer’s responsibility – phase 2
Phase 2
Having completed the “staging” process an employer’s responsibility then continues every time a payroll is run, requirements being:
- Classifying your workforce
- Calculating the appropriate deductions from employees
- Forwarding appropriate contributions to the pension provider on behalf of the employees
- Recording all decisions and calculations to prove compliance with requirements.
To comply with the above, the initiative will inevitably lead to significantly increased time input from the employer.
How we can help
If required, we can deal with the Auto Enrolment process for you, thereby reducing your time input on both phases of your responsibilities as follows :
Phase 1
Set up of pension scheme with NEST (Government Scheme)
£400 + VAT *
Enrolment cost per employee
£35 + VAT
Optional presentation to employer
£75 + VAT
Optional presentation to employees
£75 + VAT
Optional presentation to employer & employees
£100 + VAT
Training for payroll staff
£75 per hour + VAT
* Clients of Bexons qualify for a £100 discount on this
Phase 2
Online submissions to your pension provider can be provided by ourselves for a monthly charge dependent upon the size of your payroll. Please enquire for a quote.
Schedule an Appointment
For help with either phase, please schedule an appointment with us as soon as possible.