New Year's Resolution: Auto Enrolment

With many New Year resolutions revolving around alcohol, cigarettes and fitness levels (and hopefully not all three!), at Taylor Patterson we would recommend that employers have their own list for New Year resolutions and top of it should be: be ready for auto enrolment!

There are a number of areas that employers need to be aware of to ensure they are prepared for Auto Enrolment and have the opportunity to benefit from professional advice and selection of the most appropriate provider.

Be aware of the date you need to comply with the new regulations

All employers have been allocated a Staging Date. This is the date when an employer needs to comply with the new legislation. Find out the date, as it is recommended that planning for Auto Enrolment begins at least 6 months before the Staging Date.

Don’t be caught out

There are a large number of employers who need to ensure they have chosen a pension provider and are prepared for Auto Enrolment. In excess of 35,000 employers with a range of between 50 and 249 employees reach their staging dates between April 2014 and April 2015.

Auto Enrolment capacity crunch

The Pensions Regulator has reported that over the first 15 months of the reforms coming into force 3,670 companies have auto enrolled, with in excess of 2 million employees.

With the numbers of employers staging in 2014 and beyond the provider industry is warning of a looming capacity crunch, which will see providers close their doors to employers wanting to use them for Auto Enrolment. Already insurers are being selective in which employers they will accept. To ensure they can administer schemes profitably many insurers require a minimum average contribution per member before they will agree to provide a qualifying scheme.

Auto Enrolment advisers

In addition to the capacity crunch for insurers the same issues are likely to apply to advisers. With the numbers of employers looking for advice on how best to control the costs of complying with the new regulations, Auto Enrolment advisers will be stretched and medium sized or smaller firms may have difficulty sourcing advice as their staging dates approach.

What happens if you are not ready in time?

The Pensions Regulator is responsible for ensuring all employers comply with the new rules. If after an employers staging date they are found to be in breach of the auto enrolment requirements, penalties will be imposed. These penalties are based on the number of employees and are charged on a daily basis.

•250-499 employees £5,000 per day •50-249 employees £2,500 per day •5-49 employees £ 500 per day •1-4 employees £ 50 per day

How can Taylor Patterson Financial Planning Ltd help?

With over thirty years experience of advising on and managing workplace pension schemes on behalf of employers, our dedicated Employee Benefits team is ideally placed to advise, establish and manage your workplace pension requirements. Please call us today for a no-obligation chat. Contact Paul Jackson on 01772 550764 or via email at paul.jackson@taypat.co.uk - See more at: http://www.taypat.co.uk/new-years-resolutions-auto-enrolment/#sthash.ls7ia0ov.dpuf