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Automatic Enrolment - Increases in Minimum Contributions

| | Duncan & Toplis | 14 March 2019

The minimum contributions that have to be paid into your Automatic Enrolment pension scheme are increasing from 6 April 2019.

The amount that you and your staff pay into your pension scheme will vary depending on the type of scheme you have chosen and the rules of that scheme. Most employers use pension schemes that currently require a total minimum contribution of 5% to be paid.

By law a total minimum amount of contributions must be paid into the scheme. You, the employer, must make a minimum contribution towards this amount and your staff member must make up the difference. If you decide to cover the total minimum contribution required, your employee will not need to pay anything.

This table shows the minimum contributions you must pay and the date when you must increase:

 

Employer minimum contribution

Employee contribution

Total minimum contribution

Until 5 April 2019

2%

3%

5%

6 April 2019 onwards

3%

5%

8%

It is your responsibility to make sure these increases are implemented.

If you have any queries regarding minimum contribution levels, please contact your local payroll office.

Re-enrolment

If your staging / duties start date was between 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017, then now is the time to prepare for re-enrolment.

Every three years you must put certain staff back into a pension scheme. This is called “re-enrolment”.

The action required will vary depending on whether you identify that you have staff to re-enrol, or whether you have no staff to re-enrol. Either way, you will need to undertake a Re-declaration of Compliance to inform The Pensions Regulator how you have met your duties.

What you need to do and by when:

  1. Now you should:
    Choose your re-enrolment date from within a six month window, which starts three months before the third anniversary of your automatic enrolment duties start date and ends three months after it.
  2. On your re-enrolment date:
    You will need to assess certain staff to work out if you need to put them back into your pension scheme.
  3. Within 6 weeks of your re-enrolment date:
    You need to write to staff to tell them that you have put them back into a pension scheme.
  4. Within 5 months of the third anniversary of your staging / duties start date
    You need to tell The Pensions Regulator how you have met your legal duties for re-enrolment by completing your Re-declaration of Compliance.

Remember, re-enrolment and re-declaration are your legal duties and if you do not act you could be fined.

If you would like assistance with re-enrolment or the re-declaration process then please contact your local payroll office.

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