Do You Need Help With Workplace Pensions and Auto Enrolment?

Here at JLP, we don’t just provide an outsourced payroll service for our clients. We can also help when it comes to Workplace Pensions and Auto Enrolment. We look after small and micro businesses, so, f you are one of the 1.8 million small and micro business employers in the country who need to offer an auto-enrolment scheme, we can help if you’re finding it all a bit too time consuming or complicated.

What does auto-enrolment mean?

Automatic enrolment means that most UK employers must put in place a qualifying workplace pension scheme and automatically enrol their qualifying workers. These workers can then opt out if they wish, but they must be automatically enrolled to begin with. Employers then have to make minimum contributions to their workers? pensions every pay period.

Eligible workers for workplace pensions are those who:

• Aren’t already in a qualifying pension scheme at work.
• Are aged between 22 and the state pension age (the earliest age they can claim their state pension).
• Work in the UK.
• Earn at least £10,000 in a year (this figure is reviewed by the government each tax year).

How much do I have to contribute to Workplace Pensions?

The minimum employer contribution will start at 1% of a worker’s qualifying earnings and increase to 3% over the next few years. When an employer contributes so do the employees, and the Government, too.

Qualifying earnings does not mean all of an employee’s salary, but applies to earnings over a minimum amount (currently £5,824) up to a maximum (currently £42,385). These figures apply to the 2015/16 tax year changes are likely to be announced at every budget.

So for example, for someone earning £25,000 a year, then the qualifying amount of earnings is £19,176 (£25,000 minus £5,824).

How do I set all this up?

For your new Workplace Pension Scheme you must decide upon your intended scheme format, membership, benefit structure, benefit provider, scheme administrator and commencement date.

All of this can be time consuming. We can help. Make early contact with us and with your Company’s existing professional advisers, and together we’ll help you sort it out!