Pensions Reforms: auto-enrolment & NEST

In 2012, Government will be introducing a national occupational pension scheme called the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), formally called "Personal Accounts", and the new Pensions Bill requires all employers to have a basic qualifying pension plan (or NEST) in place from 2012 and auto-enrol all employees (age 22 and over) into the scheme in phased stages. PIPS intends to be a qualifying scheme for the industry. Please note that the new coalition Government have said they going to have a "hard" look at NEST although they are likely to proceed with auto-enrolment!

Advisers can guide employers through this transition by sending them a series of communiques giving the relevant information.To receive the communiques employers need to register with Meridan Financial (freephone 0800 132100). To see the first communique click here. To see the second communique click here. There will be a third in the New Year.

PRESS RELEASE: BPIF and Unite have just issued a joint press release which has neen covered by PrintWeek in the July 13 issue. Click here to see the press release but please note that PrintWeek has presented the text in a slightly different format.

Latest news from the DWP/PADA is that there will be a "soft" launch of voluntary auto-enrolment starting in 2011 to test out the systems. The auto-enrolment of employees will be phased in according to the size of company, starting in 2012 with the the largest companies. The compulsory employer contribution starts at 1%, with 3% kicking in by 2017 and with employee contributions being similarly phased. For information on Personal Accounts (now NEST) go to:  http://www.standardlife.co.uk/keepahead/index.html