Where To Get Workplace Pensions Advice

Finding Advice About Your Workplace Pension

Implementing workplace pension schemes can be daunting to some, so finding the right advice is essential if you want to remain compliant.

Workplace pension schemes have been in the news quite a bit recently, but there are still lots of people who are unsure of what they are and who they are for. Terms such as auto enrolment and staging dates may seem confusing at first, but once they’ve been explained there really is nothing to worry about. It’s all about finding the right place to go to for advice.

What Are Workplace Pensions?

A workplace pension is simply another way for employees to save for retirement. The key difference between a workplace pension and a private pension is that the former is arranged and handled by the employer, hence the name. They make take on various monikers such as ‘works’, ‘work-based’, ‘company’ or ‘occupational’, but essentially these are all one and the same thing.

Why Were They Brought In?

The government decided to introduce workplace pension schemes in order to help provide workers with an adequate retirement fund for a decent way of life once they hit retirement age. People are living longer than ever before, so the need for additional pension pots are increasing as the state pension may not be enough for individuals to live on in the coming years.

How Are They Being Implemented

Workplace pensions are being brought in in stages, with many employers already well underway. Automatic enrolment – the process whereby employees are automatically enrolled into a workplace pensions scheme by their employers – came into effect back in October 2012 and will continue through to 2018.

The time when a business is expected to start initiating auto enrolment is called a staging date and this year’s dates are as follows:

01 January 2016

Businesses that have fewer than 30 employees with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 02-04, C1-C9, D1-D9, CA-CZ, DA-DZ.

01 February 2016

Businesses that have fewer than 30 employees with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 00, 05-07, E1-E9, EA-EZ.

01 March 2016

Businesses that have fewer than 30 employees with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 01, 08-11, F1-F9, G1-G9, FA-FZ, GA-GZ.

01 April 2016

Businesses that have fewer than 30 employees with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 12-16, 3A-3Z, H1-H9, HA-HZ.

01 May 2016

Businesses that have fewer than 30 employees with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers I1-I9, IA-IZ.

01 June 2016

Businesses that have fewer than 30 employees with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 17-22, 4A-4Z, J1-J9, JA-JZ.

01 July 2016

Businesses that have fewer than 30 employees with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 23-29, 5A-5Z, K1-K9, KA-KZ.

01 August 2016

Businesses that have fewer than 30 employees with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 30-37, 6A-6Z, L1-L9, LA-LZ.

01 September 2016

Businesses that have fewer than 30 employees with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers N1-N9, NA-NZ.

01 October 2016

Businesses that have fewer than 30 employees with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 38-46, 7A-7Z, O1-O9, OA-OZ.

01 November 2016

Businesses that have fewer than 30 employees with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 47-57, 8A-8Z, Q1-Q9, R1-R9, S1-S9, T1-T9, QA-QZ,

RA-RZ, SA-SZ, TA-TZ.

How Businesses Implement The New Rules

Largely, this is a matter of choice for each individual business owner, but many are finding the process to be time consuming and tedious. That is why so many are opting not to conduct the tiresome task themselves and, instead, employ the services of a consultant to handle it for them.

Consultancy firms such as The Workplace Pension Consultancy Ltd will assess your workforce, set up a relevant pension scheme for your company’s employees and work together with your payroll team, regardless of whether they are in house or elsewhere. So, if you’d rather remove the headache of learning the ins and outs of workplace pensions, calling a reputable consultancy practice could well be the answer you’ve been looking for.

Gary Keeley founded The Workplace Pension Consultancy, which provides auto-enrolment advice for businesses that are setting up staff pension plans.