Rather than leave it to individuals to select a pension provider and make contributions into a pension, starting from October 2012, UK employers have a legal obligation to enrol certain employees into a pension scheme as a matter of course and pay contributions into that scheme. This is referred to as automatic enrolment.
Staging date
The date on which an employer’s auto enrolment duties come into force. Auto enrolment is being rolled out in stages to encompass employers over a number of years. Employers are being “staged” based on the number of people they employed in April 2012. The process started in October 2012 with the largest employers and is gradually incorporating smaller ones. It will be completed by 2018.
To find out your staging date now, use the following link and have your PAYE reference to hand:
http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/tools/staging-date.
An essential part of the auto enrolment process is ensuring that you are using a pension scheme suitable for auto enrolment. Employer duties under auto enrolment rules are multiple, complex and ongoing. Thankfully, a good payroll software package can ease much of the strain, and the functionality in Opera II Payroll and Opera 3 Payroll will automate and streamline many of the processes involved.
Contact us to discuss your auto enrolment obligations and requirements.