Less than two thirds agreed that required information could be given in one communication. Only 29% agreed that it would remove the need for continual assessment. There was more support for combining postponement information with 73% agreeing that this would reduce the burden on employers. 83% of respondents agreed with the suggestion that there is no need to write to existing members of a qualifying scheme. There was strong agreement (89%) with the proposal to standardise enrolment letters for all employees, yet only 53% believed that employees would receive all the information they needed from a standardised letter. 75% of respondents agreed it would be useful to give employees details of where to obtain an opt-out notice. 76% agree that the aspiration of communicating three pieces of information is realistic. There is less certainty as to whether this raft of proposed changes would cause confusion for employees, with only 58% believing there will be no detriment for employees. 77% of respondents agreed with the suggestion that employers can choose whether to enrol someone who has handed in their notice. 67% said they didn’t foresee problems with removing opt-in rights from employees during a notice period. Opinion was equally divided as to the frequency of notice withdrawal and whether the exception should be extended to fixed term contracts. 70% of respondents agreed with the proposal that employees who have recently cancelled qualifying scheme membership, whether new joiners or not, could have exception from the automatic enrolment requirement. 72% of respondents agreed with the wide exception to automatically enrolling employees with tax protected status.
Read the full consultation response .
Small and micro employers look out for a letter from The Pensions Regulator
19 January 2015
Around 100,000 employers will receive letters in next three months telling them they have one year to go before their staging date.
The Pensions Regulator will be writing to all small and micro employers over the coming months to ensure they know when their new workplace pensions duties start. The letter will provide key information such as the date the law applies to them and the process through which they can provide a nominated contact to the regulator to receive regular, useful and relevant information in the run up to the date at which they need to comply with your duties. The Pensions Regulator is calling on advisers to be ready to help their clients with automatic enrolment as research by the regulator has shown the majority of small businesses will be seeking help from their accountants and bookkeepers.
Have you already checked the dates that the law will apply to your clients? If not, click here to confirm when your client’s staging date is and get ahead of the curve.
Last year the regulator announced five million workers had been automatically enrolled by nearly 43,000 employers. In the coming months and years, around 4 million more workers
CIPP Policy News Journal
08/04/2015, Page 354 of 521
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