YOUR Guide to

Pensions Auto Enrolmentfrom Your Life Choice Support Network

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Scottish Personal Assistant Employers Network (SPAEN) Ltd

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SPAEN makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a par-ticular purpose. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation and this publication is made available on the understanding that the author is not engaged in rendering legal, account-ing or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent person should be sought. SPAEN shall not be liable for any damages arising herefrom. The fact that that an organisa-tion or website is referred to or linked to from this publication does not mean that SPAEN endorses the infor-mation the organisation or website may provide or recommendations it may make. Readers should be aware that internet websites listed or linked to in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. By downloading or using this document, the reader is assumed to have read and agreed with the content of this statement, understand and accepts the terms set out.

All content in this book has been independently checked and verified by FCA registered and accredited pen-sion advisors from Enrolme.co.uk however you should seek independent advice on your own circumstances before taking any action in relation to the topics covered in this book.

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Introduction1

“What is auto-enrolment and who is it for?”

Shortly, all employers in the U.K. will be required to offer their employees a pension scheme.

For PA employers, the regulations surrounding pensions auto-enrolment are exactly the same as for large companies but without all the resources and back-up. That’s where we come in.

SPAEN has put together a quick guide to ensure that you remain fully supported and in-formed meaning that you can continue to enjoy the freedom employing your own staff pro-vides without too much additional work.

This guide will give you some basic information and explain some of the terms you will hear when talking about pensions auto-enrolment. Chapter 7 also describes SPAEN’s specially de-signed solution that will provide all the support and advice you need to meet your obligations.

We are YOUR Life Choice Support Network

The Pensions Act

In 2012, the U.K. Parliament passed a new law that created a process of “auto-enrolment”.

“Auto-enrolment” is the term used to en-sure that employers of all sizes give their employees the opportunity to become a member of a pension scheme.

Not all staff will be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme and not all workers will be entitled to request to join the scheme.

However, ALL EMPLOYERS are required to have a “Qualifying Pension Scheme” available to their staff.

This applies to all types of employer, from large, profit making organisations to small charities and even Personal Assistant em-ployers who employ domestic or care staff directly.

Who has responsibility for auto-enrolment?

Quite simply, it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that they take all the

necessary steps and produce all the neces-sary reports and communications.

What are my responsibilities as a PA Em-ployer?

As an employer, you are required to:

be ready within the timetable set by the U.K. Government, this is referred to as your “staging date”

make “eligible” employees members of a workplace pension scheme (although the employees can “opt out”)

Have a “Qualifying Pension Scheme” available to “eligible employees”

pay contributions for and on behalf of your employees

manage your workplace pension or ap-point someone to manage it for you.

make various reports to the relevant Government agencies, e.g. the Pension Regulator

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Must every employer have a “Qualifying Pension Scheme?”

YES.

All employers should have a “Qualifying Pension Scheme” or QPS which is ready to enroll employees by the employer’s staging date.

It is up to you to find a suitable pension provider and select a scheme that will meet your needs but you can get assistance with this.

What are my basic duties as an employer?

As a PA employer, you must:

have a process in place by your individual staging date

have a qualifying pension scheme available

make eligible employees members of your pension scheme

pay contributions for and on behalf of your employees

deal with all employee auto-enrolment rights, such as the right to opt out and later opt in

make reports to the Pension Regulator as required by legis-lation.

When is my “Staging Date?”

Each employer will have a different staging date. The staging date is calculated based on your PAYE (Pay As You Earn) staff count as at 1st April 2012.

“PA employers must be prepared to meet the requirements within the timescales set by the U.K. Government”

“You can appoint someone to assist you to meet your obligations.”

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As a general rule, most PA employers will not have a staging date before the summer of 2015 however you should contact your payroll provider and request your staging date now.

This will allow you time to identify and put in place a qualifying pension scheme for your employees (and this process can take up to 6 months so the more time you have, the better pre-pared you can be).

You can also check your staging date using your PAYE refer-ence number (your payroll provider will be able to advise you of your reference number) by visiting http://www.trp.gov.uk/staging-date.

Can I defer my staging date?

Employers can defer (put back or delay) their staging date in two situations:

if they are a “small employer” (i.e. they have fewer than 50 employees as at 1st April 2012) you may be able to defer your staging date; or

where the number of active workers together with former employees being paid pension benefits is fewer than 50.

If you defer your staging date, you will still be required to have a Qualifying Pension Scheme in place after the period of defer-ment, this does not prevent you from requiring to have a pen-sion scheme, it only delays the need to have the pension scheme in place for a short while.

If you are planning to defer your staging date, you must do so within 5 months of your original staging date.

“Staging Date”

“This is the date by which the employer must have a qualifying pension scheme in place and must have enrolled eligible employees”

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However, we would recommend communicating with the Pen-sions Regulator in advance of your staging date to avoid un-necessary communications from the Regulator.

Chapter Summary:

“Auto-enrolment” refers to the process of creating a work-place pension scheme;

It is compulsory for all employers regardless of the size of the employer - PA employers will also require to have a “Quali-fying Pension Scheme”;

Employers will be obliged to offer all “eligible” employees the chance to join their workplace pension scheme on or be-fore their “Staging Date”;

Auto-enrolment is being phased in based on the size of the employer at 1st April 2012, most PA employers will not be af-fected until around the Summer of 2015;

The employer is legally required to identify and secure the Qualifying Pension Scheme but you can get help to do this;

You can defer your staging date, this will give you more time to prepare but this will only delay your duties;

You can get assistance and advice from an Independent Fi-nancial Advisor or Pension’s Advisor.

“Defer”

“To put off until a later time”

“To delay”

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Getting Ready for Auto-Enrollment

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Whilst your staging date may seem like it is still some time away, there’s a lot you, as an employer, must prepare and have in place ahead of your “staging date”and this will take time.

This chapter will look at the activities you need to do and the likely amount of time you will need to be fully prepared.

“He who is failing to plan is planning to fail”

Winston Churchill

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There are 4 key stages or milestones that you should keep in mind and aim to achieve when preparing for auto-enrolment.

These are:

Now:

• Unless you are already aware of it, you should speak with your payroll provider or visit the Pensions Regulator’s web-site and get your “Staging Date”;

9 - 12 months before your staging date:

• You should consider how much you can do yourself or think about getting an Independent Financial Advisor to be your main contact and co-ordinator for the auto-enrolment process (if you’re planning to use SPAEN’s solution, this will be included in the package of support);

• You should make sure that your nominated contact is aware that they will be communicating with the Pensions Regulator on your behalf;

• You can advise the Pensions Regulator of your nominated contact via their website http://www.trp.gov.uk/nominate-contact

0 - 9 months before your staging date:

• Identify who you will be required to automatically enrol and who is eligible to request to join your pension scheme even if they do not meet the criteria for auto-enrolment (we will look at “entitlement” later in the guide);

“Eligibility”

“Satisfying the appropriate conditions”

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• Choose a pension scheme or schemes (this will be a com-pany that offers pension services such as the People’s Pen-sion or NEST);

• Start to think about how you will manage your duties and obligations once your pension scheme is in place (this will include employees opting in or opting out of your pension scheme;

Staging Date (and beyond)

• You have 6 weeks from your staging date to automatically enroll all eligible jobholders and make them active mem-bers of your workplace pension

• You have 6 weeks from your staging date to write to all your Personal Assistants telling them about their rights and what automatic enrolment means for them (including advising “eligible workers” and “non-eligible jobholders” of their rights to “opt in” to your pension scheme and “eligible job-holders” of their right to “opt out”);

• You have 5 months from your staging date to send your reg-istration declaration to the Pension Regulator giving them details of your workplace pension;

• If you are planning to defer, you have 5 months to write to the Pension Regulator to request that you can defer imple-menting your pension scheme;

• You must then continue to monitor and assess your work-force as your employees’ rights may change depending on various factors;

“Eligible Employee”

“Not all employees will be required to be auto-enrolled but PA employers will need to automatically enrol eligible jobholders and still meet certain requirements for other types of worker.”

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• After your period of deferment, you must then implement a qualifying pension scheme or seek further periods of defer-ment

Please Note:

SPAEN does offer a pension scheme for all PA employers through Enrolme and the People’s Pension and this is dis-cussed in more depth in chapter 8.

Setting up a pension scheme will take time.

SPAEN recommends leaving yourself at least 6 months to identify and set up a qualifying pension scheme.

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Chapter Summary:

You should start planning your pension scheme 12 months in advance of your staging date;

You can appoint a “nominated contact” and this can be an Independent Financial Advisor or someone with a good working knowledge of pensions;

You should check your existing payroll provider can han-dle your requirements including communicating pension contributions to your pension scheme provider;

Your Qualifying Pension Scheme SHOULD be in place even if you have no qualifying employees;

You must communicate with your Personal Assistants and the Pension Regulator to advise them about your pension scheme;

You must be able to manage opt-in or opt-outs;

You must continue to assess your Personal Assistants even after the staging date. Employers will need to re-assess their workforce regularly (e.g. after each pay run).

“Many pension scheme providers will have minimum clauses in their scheme.”

Make sure you are aware of ALL the costs of the scheme you are planning to use before you set it up.

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Employee Categories

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Under the Pensions Act, there are 3 differ-ent categories of “worker”. Some workers will require their employer to automatically enroll them, some workers will be entitled to “opt in” and some workers will have no

entitlement to access your pension scheme.

This chapter will look at what these catego-ries of worker are.

There are 3 categories of “worker” and employers will be required to as-sess and categorise their workforce.

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Who counts as a worker?

Under auto-enrolment, most employees, including Personal Assistants, are categorised as “workers”.

There are 4 steps each employer will need to undertake to “as-sess” their workforce (if you use a Financial Advisor, they can also assist in the latter stages):

Step 1 - Is the worker a jobholder?

Broadly speaking, a “jobholder” is someone who works for you under a contract or employment (such as a Personal As-sistant). There are other criteria but for PA employers, these other criteria will not normally affect you.

Step 2 - Is the worker an entitled worker?

An “entitled worker” is someone that is entitled to be included in or given access to your pension scheme.

This includes:

• Anyone who is aged between 16 and 74 years of age (and meets the criteria at step 1);

• has earnings at or below the National Insurance lower limit (for 2014 / 15, this is anyone earning £481 per month or lower) and works in the U.K.;

An “entitled worker” is allowed to join your pension scheme if they wish (they can “opt-in”) but you are not obliged to make any employer contributions to their pension.

You must, however, allow them to “opt in” to your pension scheme.

“Categorise”

“To place in a particular category based on their status”

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Step 3 - Is the worker a non-eligible jobholder?

A “non-eligible jobholder” is someone who meets step 1 and is either:

• aged between 16 and 74 years and earns between the lower earnings threshold (£481 per month) and what the Pension Regulator refers to as the “earnings trigger” for automatic enrolment (£833 per month for 2014 / 15); or

• aged between 16 and 21 or over 74 and has earnings above the PAYE threshold (£833 per month for 2014 / 15).

Non-eligible jobholders are entitled to join your pension scheme if they wish (they can “opt-in”). If they do, they are eli-gible to receive pension contributions from you as their em-ployer.

Step 4 - Is the worker an eligible jobholder?

An “eligible jobholder” is any worker who:

• is aged between 22 and state pension age; and

• has earnings above the earnings threshold (currently £833 per month for 2014 / 15)

If you’re PA is an “eligible jobholder”, you must automatically enroll them in your pension scheme and you must also make “employer contributions” to the individual’s pension.

The employee can choose to “opt-out” of making contribu-tions. Where they “opt-out”, the employer is not required to make any contributions.

We will look at “opting in and out” later in the guide.

Non-eligible jobholder

“A non-eligible jobholder will not be automatically enrolled but they will be entitled to access your pension scheme.”

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Chapter Summary:

There are different categories of “worker” - entitled worker; non-eligible jobholder and eligible jobholder and the employer must assess their staff to decide which cate-gory their PA(s) are in;

Entitled workers are entitled to “opt-in” to your pension scheme but you are not required to make a contribution to their pension;

Non-eligible jobholders are entitled to “opt-in” to your pen-sion scheme and you will be required to provide employer contributions;

Eligible jobholders must be automatically enrolled into your pension scheme and you must make contributions to their pension unless the employee “opts out”.

An employee’s status will change from time to time based on their age and earnings and you must monitor and con-tinually assess your workforce and make changes where an employee’s rights or status changes;

Even if you have no PA’s wishing or entitled to op-in or be automatically enrolled in a pension scheme, you should have a pension scheme available in case they choose to do so or their status changes at a later date.

PA Employers will be required to assess and categorise their employees

If you engage a financial advisor, they can assist you assess your workforce.

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Opt In & Opt Out4

As you’ll see, the pension regulations are quite complex and even after you’ve under-taken the initial assessment of your work-force, your employees continue to have

rights about “opting in” and “opting out” of the pension scheme.

As a PA employer, you will be required to ensure your employees can do this.

Workers can “opt in” or “opt out” of their employer’s pension scheme and the employer will need to man-age this.

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In the last chapter, we looked at the various eligibility criteria, now we can look in a bit more depth at what “opt in” and “opt out” means for each category of worker.

Who can “opt in” to my pension scheme?

“Opting in” means making a formal request to be part of your pension scheme.

Entitled workers and non-eligible jobholders are entitled to “opt in” to your pension scheme.

As an employer, you must make “entitled workers” and “non-eligible jobholders” aware of their right to access your pension scheme and explain to them how they should make a formal request to you, their employer, to access the scheme.

If you receive a request from an entitled worker or non-eligible jobholder, you will be required to allow them access to your pension scheme.

You will make pension deductions from their wages, at source, and pass these deductions to your pension scheme operator on the PA’s behalf.

For entitled workers, you as the employer, are not required to make additional payments (known as employer’s contribu-tions) to their pension scheme.

For non-eligible jobholders, you will be required to make “em-ployer’s contributions”.

“Opt”

“To make a choice from a range of options.”

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Who can opt out of my pension scheme?

Initially, it will only be “eligible jobholders” who could opt out of your pension scheme as these are the only workers who will be automatically enrolled.

However, if you have entitled workers or non-eligible jobhold-ers who decide to opt in to your pension scheme, these work-ers can then opt out of the pension scheme at a later date also.

Is there a limit or timescale for opting in or out?

There is no limit on the number of times an employee can opt in or out of your pension scheme and there is no time limit ei-ther.

You will be required to process any eligible request to opt in or out of your pension scheme.

I don’t have any eligible workers

Even if you don’t have any eligible workers it is strongly ad-vised that PA employers have a qualifying pension scheme available to accommodate any requests to “join” or “opt in”.

New Personal Assistants

You will be required to make “statutory communications” to all your existing PA’s but you will also need to assess and make statutory communications with any new PA’s that you recruit.

Where you have a Financial Advisor or nominated contact in place, this person will most likely make these communications on your behalf and with your consent, however you should

“Assessing new and existing staff”

“Pensions auto-enrolment is an ongoing activity.”

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make sure this is a service they provide and that they are able to do this on your behalf.

Chapter Summary:

All employees will need to be assessed and categorised by their employer or someone acting on your behalf;

All eligible jobholders must be automatically enrolled and can then choose to “opt out”;

Non-eligible jobholders and eligible workers can “opt in”;

You will need to have a pension scheme available to allow your staff to “opt in” and “opt out”, even if you have no eligi-ble staff or all your staff have opted out;

Employees can exercise their right to “opt in” or “opt out” at any point during their employment and they can opt in or out several times;

Where an employee opts out, you will not be required to make contributions to their pension scheme either.

Even if you have no qualifying staff, you will still be required to have a qualifying pension scheme available.

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Pension Schemes5

There are many companies offering pen-sion schemes to assist employers fulfill their duties and obligations under the Pen-sions auto-enrolment regulations.

Not all pension schemes are the same and you need to be careful that the scheme you choose meets your needs.

There are many pension providers operating in the U.K. so what do you need to know?

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Employers must meet certain standards expressed in legisla-tion.

What pension schemes are available?

There are different types of pension scheme available and it is important that you, as the employer, are aware of what these schemes are; some basic details about how they work and what the likely costs to you and your staff are.

PLEASE NOTE:

It is highly recommended that you seek accredited profes-sional financial or pensions advice before choosing which pen-sion scheme is right for you.

The information provided in this chapter is designed to intro-duce you to a few of the concepts and terms that you may hear from your advisor, it does not replace accredited financial advice.

What types of scheme are there?

There are 2 basic pension schemes. These are:

Defined Benefit Scheme

Generally, only the largest employers have defined benefit schemes open to their employees and many employers have closed such schemes due to the high costs of such a scheme.

It is unlikely a Defined Benefit Scheme will be appropriate or affordable for a PA employer as it guarantees a level of pen-sion income which the employer is liable to provide on retire-ment.

“NEST”

NEST stands for the National Employment Savings Trust.

NEST is open to all employers of all sizes.

NEST does not offer regulated financial advice or assistance.

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Defined Contribution (money purchase) Scheme

A defined contribution scheme only requires the employer to pay in a specified amount of contributions. This is usually a percentage of the employee’s earnings.

Under defined contribution schemes, the employer is not re-sponsible for overseeing how successful the scheme is.

Charges for operating the pension scheme

Every pension provider will charge for their services however the level of charges permitted are contained in legislation.

Some schemes will have a set-up fee, payable at the point of setting up the pension scheme; other schemes don’t have any initial charges but they may require a minimum number of scheme members (employees) and / or a minimum level of contribution each year.

Most schemes will apply an Annual Management Charge (AMC).

This charge aims to cover the cost of operating the pension scheme and goes directly to the pension provider.

AMC’s can range from 0.5% of the total pension pot to 1.4%.

Some providers, such as NEST, charge a fee for every new contribution an employee makes to the scheme. This is nor-mally in addition to the AMC.

This means that less of the money paid into the pension scheme goes toward the final pension of the scheme member.

Most employers now use Defined Contribution Schemes.

The employer is not liable for the performance of the pension scheme or for guaranteeing the pension benefit at retirement.

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Your pension provider should make it clear what charges will be applied and whether there are any minimum levels or re-quirements that you must meet.

They should also tell you in advance of any penalty charges that you may be liable for if you don’t meet their minimum cri-teria.

Chapter Summary:

Defined Benefit Schemes (DBS) can be very costly to op-erate and manage and very few employers now offer these schemes. It is unlikely a DBS will be suitable for PA employ-ers;

Defined Contribution (money purchase) Schemes are more commonly used and the employer is not responsible for the performance of the pension plan under such a scheme;

Pension providers can charge an Annual Management Charge (AMC) for providing a pension scheme and this comes from the pension pot;

AMC’s can vary from around 0.5% to 1.4%;

Some pension providers, such as NEST, also charge a per-centage of each pension contribution the employee makes;

Some pension providers will have minimum requirements (either the number of employees using the scheme or the amount of money being paid into the scheme each year or both);

Annual Management Charge (AMC)

Pension scheme providers make this charge against the pension pot and this covers the cost of them operating the pension.

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Where these minimum requirements aren’t met, the em-ployer may be required to pay a “penalty” fee and the em-ployer will be liable for paying this fee;

“Penalty Fee”

“A financial charge applied where certain pre-defined criteria are not met.”

Employers will be required to pay the cost of any penalty fee.

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Prohibited Actions6

The Pension regulations prohibit (make it illegal) for employers to do certain things in relation to pensions auto-enrolment.

This chapter talks about the things that you cannot do as an employer.

If you are unsure, you should seek special-ist advice.

There are certain things that employ-ers are not allowed to do.

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Under the auto-enrolment legislation, an employer must not:

• offer an inducement (a benefit in money or kind) to employ-ees where the sole or main purpose of making the offer is to encourage them to “opt out” of joining a pension scheme. This applies before, on or following the staging date;

• treat an employee unfairly or dismiss them because they have not “opted out” of a pension scheme or have exer-cised their right to “opt in” to a pension scheme;

• conduct your recruitment process (including the engage-ment of agency staff) in such a way as to state or allude to your preference for applicants and employees who will “opt out” of a pension scheme.

As well as these actions being prohibited, it is also extremely important to note that employers should not provide financial advice that may impact on an employee’s decision whether to opt in or out.

An employer can provide general information about the pen-sion scheme and they can also (subject to agreement with the local authority council if you are using your SDS budget) pay for an employee to receive independent financial advice.

Employers wishing to provide financial advice should engage with an advisor regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Any employer who is believed to have carried out any “prohib-ited activity” listed above can be taken to an Employment Tri-bunal.

“Prohibited”

“Something that is forbidden or banned.”

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Chapter Summary:

Employers are not permitted to actively discourage exist-ing or future PA’s from exercising their rights in relation to pensions;

Employers cannot offer incentives or inducements to per-suade or encourage employees to “opt out” of joining a workplace pension scheme;

Employers cannot set employee contribution levels so high that it acts as a disincentive for employees joining a pension scheme;

You cannot recruit new staff on the basis of their willing-ness to “opt out” of a pension scheme;

If you do any of these things, your employee or anyone who was wishing to apply for a post to work with you can raise a claim at an Employment Tribunal;

“Inducement”

“A thing that persuades or leads someone to do something.”

Employers who undertake “prohibited actions” could face an Employment Tribunal.

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Penalties7

The Pensions Act and auto-enrolment is in-tended to assist employees plan and save for their retirement and the Pension Regula-tor will take an active role in supporting em-ployers and employees meet their duties.

However they also have the power to take action against employers who fail to meet their statutory obligations.

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The Pension Regulator can impose penalties on employers who fail to fulfill their obligations.

There are several options available to the Pension Regulator, these are:

Informal Action:

The Pension Regulator can issue guidance and instruction by telephone, e-mail, letter or in person. They can also send a “Warning Letter” stating the length of time you have to comply with your duties;

Statutory Notices:

A Statutory Notice can direct you to comply with your duties and / or pay any contributions you have missed or are late in paying.

The Pension Regulator also has discretionary powers which allow them to estimate and charge interest to the employer for any unpaid contributions and to direct you to pay the whole amount.

Penalty Notices:

The Pension Regulator can issue penalty notices to punish per-sistent and deliberate non-compliance.

A fixed penalty notice will be issued to the employer if they do not comply with statutory notices or under other circum-stances.

The initial fixed penalty fine is £400 and this must be paid within the specified period.

Thereafter, the Pension Regulator can issue escalating penalty notices for continued failure to comply with a statutory notice. This penalty is prescribed at a daily rate of between £50 and

The Pension Regulator has a supportive role.

They also have the power to seek court action against employers in certain circumstances.

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£10,000 depending on the number of staff employed by the employer.

The Pension Regulator can issue a civil penalty for failing to pay contributions that are due.

There are a range of further fines and civil penalties on an es-calating scale.

Court Action:

The Pension Regulator can take civil action against an em-ployer through the civil court.

This action is normally only taken to recover civil penalties (fines and contributions that have been calculated as being due).

Employers who willfully and deliberately fail to comply with their duties may also be prosecuted.

The Pension Regulator has various options available to them.

PA employers could face enforcement notices and / or fines for non-compliance.

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Pension Scheme Providers

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Choosing a pension scheme provider is a very important decision.

Some pension scheme providers will not offer a pension scheme to PA employers

because you are unlikely to have enough scheme members or high enough contribu-tions.

“We cannot accomplish all that we need to do without working together”

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Importantly, you should seek the advice of an accredited pen-sion professional or financial advisor before making any deci-sion about which pension scheme best meets your needs.

Enrolme & SPAEN

SPAEN has worked hard to find an “end-to-end” solution and has found a great partner in Enrolme, a pensions auto-enrolment expert based in Scotland.

The Pension Scheme Provider

The pension scheme provided through Enrolme is adminis-tered by The People’s Pension, a U.K. based pension provider and registered charity. This means all surplus funds gener-ated by the company are re-invested in their products, serv-ices and pension schemes for the benefit of its members (it’s members are the pension scheme members).

The People’s Pension currently has an Annual Management Charge (AMC) of 0.5%. This cost is deducted from the pen-sion pot and neither the PA nor the PA employer would be re-quired to make a separate payment for this.

Chapter Summary:

SPAEN Payroll clients can access a pension solution through Enrolme.co.uk;

If you are not planning to use SPAEN’s pension solution, you should seek independent financial and pensions advice for you and your employees and check that your existing pay-roll provider can accommodate your pension needs;

Enrolme.co.uk

Enrolme delivers a “one stop shop” for small employers (and PA Employers) requiring assistance with pensions auto-enrolment.

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You can move your payroll to SPAEN and access the pen-sion solution even if you have a different payroll provider cur-rently;

SPAEN can assist you to move payroll provider to minimise disruption to you and your employees;

If you would like further information or would like to arrange an appointment to discuss our pension solution, please tele-phone our Membership Services Team on 0845 601 1156 (Op-tion 1) or e-mail us on info@spaen.co.uk.

If you would like to discuss moving your existing payroll solu-tion to SPAEN, please call our Finance Services Team on 0845 601 1165 (Option 2) or e-mail us on info@spaen.co.uk

SPAEN can offer a single solution for PA employers

£560 set up cost if you use SPAEN’s payroll service

£18 per month fee for ongoing support and advice after your Staging Date

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PA Employer's Checklist

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There’s a lot of information to consider, so for ease we’ve used this chapter to create a checklist of all the things that you will need to think about and do.

This is only a guide and again, you should seek advice from a pension or financial advisor.

Get your “Staging Date” from your payroll provider or the Pension Regulator’s website;

Source a “Qualifying Pension Scheme” (remember to check for any penalty clauses if you don’t meet minimum requirements as this could cost you more in the long run)

Check with your payroll provider that they can accommo-date your pension needs and also what this will cost you (set up and ongoing costs)

Register your nominated contact with the Pension Regula-tor

Set up your Qualifying Pensions Scheme and advise the Pension Regulator that this is in place

Assess your staff; tell them which category of worker they have been assessed as and what this means for them

Tell your staff how they can opt-in or opt-out of your pen-sion scheme if they are eligible to do so

Automatically enroll “eligible jobholders” at your staging date

Continue to re-assess your staff after each pay run as they may have changed category and this may have af-fected their rights and options

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Telephone: 0845 601 1156Fax: 01698 250236

E-mail: info@spaen.co.ukWebsite: www.spaen.co.uk