Work based pension schemes likely to be affected by new regulations

July 12, 2011 - PRLog -- According to the UK’s No 1 SSAS administrator Pension Practitioner.Com, as an employer it is likely that you will be affected by the new regulations coming in effect from 2012 to provide certain members of your workforce with a pension scheme. This has come about because people are living longer and the government feels that people are not saving enough for retirement- hence these work based pension schemes are now a mandatory requirement.
Even if you provide an existing pension arrangement for your workers, the new reform criteria stipulates that certain conditions must be met by the pension scheme in terms of contributions paid or benefits received. If you do provide a pension scheme already it may meet the qualifying criteria; your financial advisor will be able to review your existing arrangement and tell you whether it does qualify, and if not what needs to be done to ensure that it does. We offer a review service also where you do not have a financial advisor appointed to the pension scheme.
Employees who will need to automatically enrol are known as ‘eligible jobholders’. This encompasses the following people:
           • those who earn more than the minimum earnings threshold
           • are aged between 22 and state pension age; and
           • work in the UK.
As an employer you will be required to make an employer’s contribution towards their pension. You must contribute at least 3% of their earnings (you can contribute more if you wish), they will contribute the rest and will receive tax relief on the contribution- the total contribution is set at an 8% minimum. You will also be required to register the pension scheme with the Pensions Regulator and give them details on the number of employees that you have automatically enrolled.
You will be given a starting date issued by the government from which the pension scheme will have to be in place- the first starting date will begin in October 2012 and will continue until 2016. Employers who employ a large number of workers under PAYE will have an earlier start date than those who do not employ as many in their PAYE scheme. Please visit the following link to find out broadly when your start date will be www.tpr.gov.uk/staging.
There is, of course, no restriction on setting up a work based pension scheme prior to your start date.  Pension Practitioner.Com are can administer work based pension schemes now - please call 0800 634 4862 or email us at info@pensionpractitioner.com if you require more information on this. We will also be launching a website over the summer dedicated to work based pension schemes - the domain name of the website will be www.workbasedpensions.com.
Pension Practitioner .Com the UK’s No 1 SSAS administrator. You can find out more by visiting http://www.pensionpractitioner.com or by calling freephone 0800 634 4862.

# # #

Pension Practitioner .Com works with professionals delivering solutions for clients and have an indepth knowledge of pension legislation in both the UK and certain overseas tax jurisdictions.

Pension Practitioner .Com works with professionals delivering solutions for clients. They do not engage in financial or pensions advice, They have an in depth knowledge of pension legislation in both the UK and certain overseas tax jurisdictions.