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EMPLOYERS: STAY ON TOP OF YOUR WORKPLACE PENSIONS DUTIES

Last updated: 05 Jan 2023 02:30 Posted in: AIA

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has recently announced a new automatic enrolment (AE) campaign warning non-compliant employers of the consequences of hiding from their legal AE duties.

TPR is the public body that protects workplace pensions in the UK ensuring that employers, both big and small, put their staff into a pension scheme and pay money into it; known as ‘automatic enrolment’. They also make sure that workplace pension schemes are run correctly so employees can save safely for retirement.

Since the government introduced AE in 2012, more than 10 million employees are newly enrolled or saving more into a workplace pension, increasing participation from 56% to 89%.

Yet in the same time frame, TPR has worked on £730k enforcement cases, which has led to over £500m late or missing pensions contributions being paid into schemes. Moreover, in recent compliance inspections, several common errors were found in pension contribution calculations and communications to staff.

The new campaign alerts employers to ensure they do not skip important steps in complying with their ongoing duties:

  • Monitoring the ages and earnings of staff every time they are paid, to see if they need to be put into a pension scheme and working out who to put back into the company pension scheme.
  • Check company is paying at least the minimum contribution levels into employees’ pension scheme - making contributions to a pension scheme.
  • Managing requests to join or leave the pension scheme and keeping accurate records.
  • Keeping records of how the business has met all legal duties.
  • Carrying out re-enrolment duties every 3 years and completing the re-declaration of compliance.

Employers should not hide from their workplace duties, as TPR will find out and may take enforcement action. Non-compliance is not worth the risk of being fined.

Click here for more information about ongoing duties as an employer.

Those supporting employers with their duties should consult TPR’s information for advisors.

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