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Posted on: 6th Jun 2016 by: CamOuse Financial Management Limited
With auto-enrolment (AE) in pension schemes now in full effect for businesses of all sizes, the penalties for those failing to comply are also being seen. One of the more high profile instances of this is Swindon Town FC, which the Pensions Regulator has fined £22,900 for failing to meet the new AE obligations. The Pensions Regulator said that the football club had repeatedly failed to put eligible employees into a scheme, pay contributions, or actively inform staff how they were affected by auto-enrolment.
Workplace pension schemes, which over 110,000 UK employers now offer, apply to any workers aged 22 and over earning in excess of £10,000 per annum, under the AE rules. Compliance by larger companies was required as far back as October 2012 and the new system continues to be introduced to smaller companies. Businesses over a certain size have to enrol all of their eligible employees into a pension scheme, with workers having the choice of then opting out should they wish.
Swindon Town FC released a statement, saying: ‘It is unfortunate that the club has been fined by the Pensions Regulator. The fine related to the period when the ownership of the club was being contested by the former Chairman and is yet another painful example of the severe adverse consequences that the uncertainty and instability caused in regularising the business affairs of the club’.
Also speaking about the football club’s case, the Pension Regulator’s executive director of AE, Charles Counsell, said that their situation “illustrates what can happen when an employer buries their head in the sand and disregards their duties”. He also urged companies to communicate with the Pensions Regulator in the case of financial difficulties, as ‘failing to comply on time will not save you money. Not only do you risk a fine, you will also have to make backdated contributions’.
Swindon Town’s penalty payment should serve as a cautionary tale for other businesses not yet fulfilling their AE responsibilities.If you need any help ensuring you are complying with all requirements, do feel free to get in touch with us for an initial conversation.
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Lee Pooley
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Lee Pooley
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Lee Pooley
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Lee Pooley
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Jo Kurz
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Lee Pooley
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Lee Pooley
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Lee Pooley
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Lee Pooley
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Jo Kurz
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Lee Pooley
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Lee Pooley
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Pension arrangements must be available for all employees. There are three categories of employee:
Aged between 22 and State Pension Age (SPA) with qualifying earnings over the Auto Enrolment earnings trigger
Qualifying Earnings lower threshold |
£5,772 |
Qualifying Earnings upper threshold |
£41,865 |
Automatic Enrolment earnings trigger |
£10,000 |
8% of Qualifying Earnings of which |
3% is employer's (starting at 1%) |
9% of Basic Salary of which |
4% is employer's (starting at 2%) |
8% of Basic Salary of which |
3% is employer's (starting at 1%) |
(Where basic salary is at least 85% of total earnings) |
|
7% of gross earnings of which |
3% is employer's (starting at 1%) |
Essentially the frequency that the jobholder is paid e.g. monthly, weekly etc. but with reference to the tax month, week etc. therefore it may not be the same as the payroll period.
It is the employer who is responsible to calculate, deduct and pay all contributions to the AE scheme. NOTE – the first and last contributions are likely to be for less than a full pay reference period and should be adjusted accordingly.
It can be seen that it is very important that the payroll system synchronises with the AE scheme otherwise the employer will not be carrying out all requirements and then penalties will be incurred.
Based on the employer’s payroll size as at 1 April 2012 and can be found at www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers using your PAYE reference. The Qualifying Workplace Pension Scheme must be registered with The Pensions Regulator within 4 months of the staging date.
Auto-Enrolment can be postponed for up to 3 months:
All eligible employees must be auto-enrolled, but can, with the correct notification, opt-out within one month of joining the scheme and be treated as never having joined. They can opt back in and will automatically be auto-enrolled every 3 years in any case!
There is a wide range of information that must be provided to all employees at certain times, such as:
Contributions can be paid by effectively reducing salary, which saves on NI contributions, but employee must choose to do this – they cannot be forced, so a contractual variation will need to be implemented.
All eligible employees will be automatically invested into a default investment fund, which is a balanced risk fund that is “life styled” to account for the employees approach to retirement. They also have the option to invest in a wide range of funds of their choosing.
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