Introduction

The law on workplace pensions changed in 2012. From 1 October 2012, it became a statutory requirement for every UK employer, no matter what their size, to enrol every ‘qualifying worker’ into a workplace pension scheme – ‘automatic enrolment’ had arrived.

The reason for its introduction is simple: life expectancy had increased and too many people were relying solely on the State Pension for their retirement provision. But the State Pension has always been generally accepted as being insufficient to live on and, because of changing work / retirement age profiles and it being paid for longer, funding it was simply costing the government too much.

Auto enrolment was designed to change that. Until its introduction, and leaving aside those employees who accepted a workplace pension as part of a remuneration package, employees could only join a workplace pension scheme if their employer had one they could join. Auto enrolment effectively reverses that – all ‘qualifying workers’ are now automatically enrolled into a scheme and have to opt out if, for any reason, they’d prefer not to be included. It’s hoped the change will help millions of workers finance their own, better, retirement and reduce the reliance on the state to provide it.

Automatic enrolment is only ‘automatic’ for employees, it is most certainly not automatic for employers. Although it’s a simple concept, it may be a time consuming and expensive exercise for many employers, both to set up and then administer on a long-term basis. In fact, auto enrolment could bring some organizations a long list of ‘actions’, many of which are ongoing and will need regular attention.

Finally, it’s important to remember that auto enrolment isn’t a voluntary scheme, it’s a statutory requirement with severe penalties for those employers who don’t fulfil their legal duties.
 

How can One Financial Solutions help you?

One Financial Solutions is here to help you. We can plan and implement everything necessary to ensure you comply with the new legislation and fulfil your legal obligations.

If you already have a workplace pension scheme we’ll review it to make sure it can be used and will recommend any changes that may be needed. If you need a new scheme we’ll find one for you and, as a truly independent firm of financial advisers, we’ll make sure the scheme we recommend is selected from the entire market and is the one that is best for both you and your staff.

More than that, if you’d like us to administer the entire scheme for you, we can do that too.

So, if you’re looking for specific help about auto enrolment or just want advice on the subject, please call us on 020 3714 9565 or ask us to call you by sending an email to admin@onefinancialsolutions.co.uk.