These latest advertisements are part of the government’s awareness campaign, which encourages people being auto-enrolled by their employers into a pension to respond positively and remain in a scheme. The new advertisements run from Monday 17 September until mid-October across TV, radio, print and online media, and feature employers - like Theo and Karren - backing automatic enrolment and saying "I’m in". Steve Webb, Pensions Minister, said: "I’m delighted that well-known bosses have taken part in our latest awareness campaign, and back the biggest change in pensions for over a century - automatic enrolment.
"People should know that all they need to do is look out for a letter from their employer, and if they do nothing and stay "in" they are effectively getting a pay rise."
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) expects that around two-thirds of individuals will say "I’m in", and remain saving in a workplace pension. Just 9% in a DWP survey said they would definitely "opt out" and choose not to take part. This new campaign will see advertisements running on ITV, Channel 4, Sky, Channel 5, commercial radio stations and online, as well as print advertisements across the national press, key magazines and the business and trade press. Different types of print advertisements with specific messages will target individuals and employers.
Department for Work and Pension's press release
IF OUTSOURCING AUTOMATIC ENROLMENT PROCEDURES, BEWARE OF OPT-OUTS
19 September 2012
A pensions expert has warned that businesses who outsource the opt-out part of automatic enrolment to third parties are not complying with an important part of legislation.
The law clearly states that opt-out forms must come from the pension scheme. The Pensions Regulator states that in the majority of cases, jobholders may only obtain an opt-out notice from the pension scheme into which they have been automatically enrolled, and not from the employer. This is a safeguard to ensure that the jobholder’s decision to opt out is taken freely and without influence from the employer. A jobholder could feel pressured into opting out if they were to receive the opt-out notice from their employer, either separately or with other pension scheme information and such action could, in certain cases, constitute a breach of the inducement legislation. Occasionally, the administration of the pension scheme is delegated to the sponsoring employer in the trust deed. In these exceptional circumstances, the jobholder can get the opt-out notice from the employer. The law relating to inducements came into force on 1 July 2012 and is an important safeguard for entitled workers and jobholders. Regardless of the size of your PAYE scheme, the law on the new employer duties and safeguards commenced from July 2012, even if your staging date is months and years away. The safeguards have been put in place to protect entitled workers and jobholders, but the prohibited recruitment safeguard extends this protection to job applicants as well.
If employers are planning to outsource automatic enrolment, use extreme caution, as you could be in breach of regulations if a third party is acting on your behalf!
CIPP Policy News Journal
12/04/2013, Page 248 of 362
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