Updated versions of the HR and Payroll guides from the Local Government Association (LGA) have been published.
The updated guides have been uploaded to www.lgpsregs.org in web and PDF (both clean and tracked change) formats. The guides can also be found through the following links:
HR guide
Payroll guide
These updates have been made to incorporate amendments coming about from the publication last month of the LGPS (Transitional Provisions, Savings and Amendment) Regulations 2014. Previous LGPS updates can be found on our website News pages and also under ‘Local Government Pensions’ within the CIPP Policy News Journal (left hand menu under News ). You will require login details to access the Journal as it is a member only benefit.
NEST (National Employment Savings Trust)
WORK AND PENSIONS COMMITTEE – NEST RESTRICTIONS NEED LIFTING
11 February 2013
Renewed calls for action to be taken to lift restrictions sooner than 2017 have been made by the Work and Pensions Committee.
In its report, published 11 February, Lifting the restrictions on NEST the Work and Pensions Committee has reiterated its previous recommendations that the Government remove the cap on annual contributions to NEST (National Employment Savings Trust) along with the ban on transfers in and out of NEST and has urged the Government to introduce the necessary amending legislation as a matter of urgency.
Commenting on the Report, Dame Anne Begg MP, Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, said:
“Since auto-enrolment began, the case for lifting the restrictions has become even more powerful, and the need for action more pressing.
“Employers want simplicity. They want to be able to choose one pension scheme to cover all their employees. The cap on annual contributions to NEST means that employers can’t opt for NEST for their higher-earners or if they want to make more generous contributions. So some employers are dismissing the NEST option and choosing a private pension provider who can offer a scheme for all their employees. “The Government has already made clear that it will need to “fix” the issue of transfers in and out of NEST if it wishes to implement its “pot follows member” solution to the current problem of small pension pots. This makes the case even stronger for lifting the restrictions now. “Auto-enrolment begins for medium and small employers from 2014. They will begin preparations a year to 18 months before then. Now is the time for action to be taken, it cannot wait until 2017.
“As the Minister himself recognised, we can’t wait to see if it goes wrong because by then it will be too late.”
CIPP Policy News Journal
16/04/2014, Page 455 of 519
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