PENSIONS ACT 2004
Synopsis: The Pensions Regulator urges medium and small firms to find out when auto enrolment will affect their business.
Date posted: Thursday, March 13, 2014
The Pensions Regulator has issued a reminder notice on their website for medium and small employers after their research shows many employers are unprepared for Auto Enrolment.
Thousands of medium sized employers due to stage before August should now have in place a suitable pension provider and payroll software. If they have not, then they need to act now to avoid the risk of failing to meet their deadline to comply and the possibility of enforcement action, including fines.
The latest research into employer awareness and understanding of automatic enrolment finds that while 82% of small employers are aware of the changes, 47% still don’t know when they will need to act.
Just one in four micro employers know their staging date – the date when their duties go live – compared with half of small employers and four out of five mediums.
The Pensions Regulator’s executive director of automatic enrolment, Charles Counsell said:
“Most medium employers due to automatically enrol between July and early 2015 know about the changes in the broadest sense, but many still haven’t considered exactly what they will need to do and by when.
“It really is time to act. Too many employers still think they can leave it as late as possible and don’t understand the actions they need to take.
“Around half of employers told us they will be relying on an adviser to help them meet their duties. I would urge those employers to start to investigate who can help them, when and how.”
COMMENT
The Pensions Regulator Website provides a plethora AE guides for employers and pension professionals. Staging dates can be established and a project plan can be printed to get the ball rolling.