It might by uninteresting but ignore pension auto-enrolment at your peril!

3 Apr 2014 | Blog

Do you know the pension auto-enrolment "Staging Date" for your company?

Do you know what your obligations as an employer are under this new legislation and how long you need to get everything in place for your business?

Many small and medium sized businesses will have staging dates at some time in the next year and given that it is sensible to allow yourself 9-12 months to fully implement a new pension scheme that complies with the law, then if you haven't done so already this needs looking at with some urgency.

The first thing you should do is find out your staging date – you can do this by going to the Pension Regulators Website (www.thepensionregulator.gov.uk) and putting your PAYE employer reference number into the appropriate calculator.

At least you will then know how long you have got left to get your new, fully-compliant pension scheme in place. We would then suggest that you take the appropriate professional advice about the multitude of options open to you when formulating the scheme that will be offered to your employees. You will need to take informed decisions and develop a proper strategy so that you make the right pension decisions both for your business and your team.

Accountants are probably the best placed advisors to help you develop this strategy and put you in contact with the range of pension-providers who can deliver compliant schemes.

… and just to concentrate your minds on this that little bit more, there is a severe penalty system that will be implemented if you don't meet your obligations by the staging date. You will immediately be fined £400 and then there are daily penalties of £50 – £10,000 (yes, £10,000 per day!) depending on the number of people you employ. Most SME's won't be anywhere near the £10,000/day fine but even at £200/day this will soon rack-up if you take too long to put your pension house in order.

If you would like some assistance to navigate you through the pension auto-enrolment maze then please contact me ([email protected]) or my colleague Steve Bird ([email protected]) and we'll be happy to provide you with whatever level of help you require.