Paul Beasley posted on
December 01, 2009 15:29
It’s not just the Olympics that are happening in 2012. There will also be a change to the pensions landscape as we know it, as the Government is introducing a national pension plan in April 2012 called Personal Accounts.
In November 2008 the Pensions Bill finally became the Pensions Act. Although many of its provisions don’t take effect for another three years – it is still an important new law for employers and their advisers to be familiar with.
The key measures are:-
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Employees will be automatically enrolled into either their employer's pension plan or personal accounts.
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Employers will have to make a minimum payment of 3% of band earnings for their employees. Employees will have to pay 4%, and the Government will pay 1% in the form of tax relief.
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Employees can opt out of their employer's pension plan or personal accounts if they wish to do so.
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Employers must automatically enroll opted out employees every 3 years.
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Low cost but with limited choice and flexibility.
The introduction of Personal Accounts further complicates the pensions market and raises some serious questions for employers as to what is the best route for their company and employees.
Main theme for this blog post: