The auto-enrolment staging date is set to come into effect in the following months and we would like to take the time to remind you that you should be fully aware of when your staging date is as well as the effect this will have on your business.
Ensuring that the auto-enrolment procedure is adhered to and a work place pension scheme is put into place for eligible workers is down to the business owners. Once enrolled, workers will have to be paid minimum contributions by you, the employer. Workers that qualify as eligible, and must therefore be auto-enrolled, are:
• Those not already in a qualifying pension scheme at work
• Are aged between 22 and the state pension age
• Earn at least £10,000 in a year (this figure will be reviewed by the government each tax year)
Workers who are classed as non-eligible can request to be auto-enrolled into the scheme, and if they are accepted, will also require you to pay the minimum contributions.
What are the minimum contributions?
The government has set minimum contributions that employers must meet at 1% of a workers qualifying earnings which will be reviewed annually by the government (current qualifying earnings are between £5,824 and £42,385). It is important that you are aware that minimum contributions are likely to increase to 3% over the next few years.
It is vitally important that you take the auto-enrolment policy very seriously, as those who do not comply will be subject to enforcement action which can include fines and even prosecution.
For further guidance on the auto-enrolment process please contact Evans Weir and we will be delighted to discuss how we can help you through the process.