There are three key principles to be considered when setting the automatic enrolment thresholds.
1. Will the right people be brought in to pension saving? In particular, at what level will the earnings trigger bring in as many people as possible who will benefit from saving? At what level does the trigger need to be set to avoid the automatic enrolment of those who are unlikely to benefit from saving? And what are the equality implications of the different options? 2. What is the appropriate minimum level of saving for people who are automatically enrolled? Everyone who is automatically enrolled should pay contributions on a meaningful portion of their income. To ensure this, there needs to be a gap or de minimis between the lower limit of the qualifying earnings band and the earnings trigger so that no one is automatically enrolled and then only pays contributions of a few pence a month. 3. Are the costs and benefits to individuals and employers appropriately balanced? The cost implications of the thresholds remain relevant and the continuing importance of simplicity is also a factor. Alignment as far as possible with recognisable tax and NICs thresholds simplifies system builds, provides compatibility with existing payroll systems and makes automatic enrolment as easy as possible to administer and explain. The Government has issued a consultation document to consider the earnings threshold for 2015-16 and the CIPP Policy team has issued a survey to collect your views. The survey will close on 19 November and should take around 15 minutes to complete. The Policy team would like to thank, in advance, everyone who manages to spare the time to complete this survey .
Understanding small employers: New NEST research published
13 November 2014
New research published by NEST provides useful insights into how small and micro employers might need to adapt to take on their auto enrolment responsibilities.
This NEST report draws on two recent surveys of employers with 49 or fewer employees. It looks at how small and micro employers manage their business processes, and how they use payroll software. It concludes that there could be a major issue around ensuring that smaller employers hold up-to-date and comprehensive data about their workers. The research shows that many of these employers collect such information through informal conversations, and have not considered the need for more formal written communications.
Micro employers expected to seek help with automatic enrolment
14 November 2014
Research shows that the small and micro employers needing to set up a pension scheme over the next 12 months are looking for help. With this in mind NEST Connect has been launched to help put payroll providers and other agents in control of providing pension services for multiple clients. NEST have introduced their new free NEST Connect service to support professionals like advisers, accountants and payroll bureaux that are helping employers meet their new pension duties. There is plenty of information about this new service on the NEST website.
CIPP Policy News Journal
08/04/2015, Page 347 of 521
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker