Chris Langdon Cert PFS
Consultant
“Auto Enrolment is the Government’s answer to this country’s pensions blackhole. It is therefore vital that employers plan properly and do not get bounced into an inappropriate arrangement at the last minute. The dates by which employers need to comply are:”
These are:
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Size of Workforce
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Key Staging Dates |
| Very Large Employers (120,000 +) |
1 Oct 2012 |
| Large Employers (10,000 – 119,999) |
1 Nov 2012 – 1 Mar 2013 |
| Medium Employers (1,250 – 9,999) |
1 Apr 2013 – 1 Sep 2013 |
| Small to Medium Employers (250 - 1,249) |
1 Oct 2013 - 1 Feb 2014 |
| Small Employers (50 - 1,249) |
1 Apr 2014 - 1 Apr 2015 |
| Smaller Employers (30 - 49) |
1 Aug 2015 - 1 Oct 2015 |
| Remaining Employers (29 or less) |
1 Jan 2016 - 1 Apr 2017 |
The Basic Facts
- Auto-enrolment compliance will start in October 2012 for larger employers
- By April 2017 ALL employers will be required to provide a compliant pension scheme
- Employers must ensure they follow strict communication guidelines and ongoing compliance requirements
- Employers will be ultimately required to contribute a minimum of 3% of salary
- Employers will need to deduct the employees’ contributions and send these to the relevant pension company
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- New starters must be enrolled within 12 weeks
- Detailed procedures must be followed for those employees who opt out
- Auto-enrolment rules will apply to employees aged 22 or over with earnings above £7475 pa
- The Pensions Regulator states there will be penalties for non compliance
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