Page 46 - MarketTimesFebruary2015
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  NEWS
Market Times • February 2015
Employ someone? You will need a workplace pension scheme — it’s now the law
EMPLOYERS with fewer than 30 workers are being urged to start preparing now for automatic enrolment of their staff in a workplace pension scheme.
Under changes to pensions laws all employers across the UK have a duty to automatically enrol certain staff into a work-based pension scheme. Already, thousands of larger employers have enrolled more than three million workers. Soon, small employers will need to do the same for some of their workforce.
While most small employers do not reach their staging date until after June this year, The Pensions Regulator has warned that planning for automatic enrolment can take some months.
PLAN EARLY
For those with limited pensions experience or a lack of in-house know how, it makes sense to start planning early.
Firstly, all employers should check they know by when they must start to comply with their duties. To do this, they need to check their staging date. An employer’s staging date is set in law and it is when their duty to automatically enrol eligible workers is switched on.
Employers should remember that their staging date is not based on their current headcount, but by the number of persons in their largest PAYE scheme on 1 April 2012. Those employers who had less than 30 workers, according to the data held by the Regulator from HMRC on this date, will begin staging in the summer of 2015. To find out their staging date, employers must visit the staging date tool on the regulator's website: www.tpr.gov.uk/actnow.
Once employers have determined their staging
date, they should then consider if they need outside help. If they do decide to seek assistance, they will need to leave plenty of time to get this in place. With potentially thousands of employers seeking help, it is sensible to avoid a rush and make approaches in good time.
Employers should ensure their chosen professional, whether it be an independent financial adviser, accountant or book keeper, is offering the help they need to meet their automatic enrolment duties. The message is the same when seeking pension scheme and software providers. Approaching both providers and advisers well in advance of their staging date will maximise employer choice and ensure their services will best meet the needs of the workforce.
The regulator recommends employers should have their automatic enrolment plans in place at least six months in advance.
Implementing automatic enrolment includes assessing workers for eligibility and notifying them of the automatic enrolment regime. Before beginning these tasks, employers will need to ensure that they have all the correct details for their workers. Having this information to hand when starting automatic enrolment preparations will make the task easier and smoother.
The Pensions Regulator’s executive director for automatic enrolment, Charles Counsell, said: “I would urge small employers to begin thinking about it now and take one step at a time. Their first step should be to find their staging date, circle it on their calendars and make a start on their plans. We do not want to see employers risking non-compliance which can
come at a cost.”
What to do if you employ one person
IF YOU employ one person, the first step is to find out when automatic enrolment affects you. Your start date is set by law and is known as a ‘staging date’. Visit The Pensions Regulator website to find out your staging date: www.tpr.gov.uk/actnow. This takes just a few minutes but you will need your PAYE reference details handy as they must be inputted.
What next?You need to consider whether you have a duty to automatically enrol your worker, and tell them about the changes and what options are available to him or her. The information you need to decide this can be found on The Pensions Regulator website. You’ll also need to think about which pension provider you wish to use. When you choose a pension scheme for your member of staff you must make sure it meets certain criteria. More details on choosing a pensions provider can be found on The Pensions Regulator website.
You may decide that seeking assistance from an accountant, independent financial adviser or book keeper will help you comply with your automatic enrolment duties. Once you have completed the initial automatic enrolment process, you must complete an online registration form on The Pensions Regulator website. This is making a declaration of compliance to the regulator and shows what you have done to implement automatic enrolment.
What will this cost me? There is an online tool on The Pensions Regulator website which will help you estimate how much the pension contributions will cost you. There is also information on set up costs and ongoing duties.
What happens if I don’t do this?
The Pensions Regulator has various powers available to it to help it maximise compliance levels – this includes issuing financial penalties. Non compliance also means your workers are missing out on the pensions savings they are due.
The Pensions Regulator is continually reviewing the information it provides to employers to address frequently asked questions or common misconceptions. You can sign up for the regulator’s free news by email service for regular updates on automatic enrolment and prompting emails detailing the actions you should take to comply with your automatic enrolment duties. In order to receive these emails, you will need to enter your details, by clicking on ‘nominate a contact’ on the regulator’s website.
  Barrow’s best dressed stall contest
FESTIVE cheer was in evidence once again at Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria as many of the traders pitched in to try to grab a handful of trophies in the market’s long-running best dressed stall competition.
NMTF National President Michael Nicholson was on hand with town mayor Coun Mrs Marie Derbyshire to walk round the market and carry
out the judging.
The winner of the Frank Baker Memorial
Trophy – introduced to recognise the services of a long-standing NMTF branch Secretary – was won by Jerry and Jo Barnard, who also won the prize for best newcomer to the market.
Picture shows the NMTF President and the Mayor (centre) with Jerry and Jo.
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