Legal News - June
Pensions Scheme Changes
A survey carried out by the British Chamber of Commerce has revealed that the majority of employers are unaware of major reforms of workplace pension schemes.
The new Pensions Bill legislates that by 2012 all employees must be automatically enrolled into a qualifying pension provision.
The Bill, resulting from the Pensions Act 2007 proposes the duty on employers to automatically enrol jobholders into, and to contribute to, a qualifying workplace pension scheme, with a compliance regime set out to accompany the reforms.
The new ‘personal accounts’ have also been introduced. These are aimed at moderate to low earners who currently do not have access to a workplace pension scheme and are described as a ‘simple, low-cost pension saving scheme’.
The survey revealed that just 16 percent of employers are aware of the date that changes are set to come into force. It is estimated that the changes will cost £1.6 billion to the UK’s small and medium sized enterprises.
