Changes to Auto Enrolment Employer Duties

From this April, The Pensions Regulator is proposing to introduce some changes to Auto Enrolment. Have a look at their consultation document to view these technical changes.

So here’s how it affects you:

Extension of discretion to exempt certain employees from AE obligations

  1. Directors who have a contract of employment with the company.
  2. Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) - Genuine partners but not partners who are effectively just employees.
  3. Anyone with the new tax protected status for their pension pot from 6 April 2016.
  4. Any worker who receives a Winding Up Lump Sum, ceases to be employed, is re-employed and becomes eligible again all within the same 12 month period.

Re-declaration of compliance

There are currently two deadlines in law for re-declaration of compliance. The proposal is to have the same deadline of 5 months after the 3rd anniversary of the staging date or previous re-enrolment date.

Early Automatic Enrolment – bringing your staging date forward

  1. No need to obtain agreement from pension schemes for those employers who have no-one to enrol.
  2. Notify TPR no later than the day before the chosen new staging date, and declare at the same time.
  3. Where the employer has no-one to enrol they can bring forward their staging date to any date, not just the 1st of the month.

If you have any questions about this please give us a call and we can discuss the implications.