WHAT IS IT?
Auto-enrolment marks a major change in the provision of work place pensions - and practically EVERY employer will be affected by it. It is a Government initiative to give people the chance to save for their retirement by making it compulsory for employers to automatically enrol eligible workers into a pension scheme.

An employee is eligible for Auto-enrolment if:

• They are aged between 22 and State Pension age
• They earn more than £10,000 per year
• They work in the UK.

WHY HAS IT BEEN INTRODUCED?
It is all about helping people to save for their retirement. The Government recognised that many of us aren't and with people living longer it is putting an increasing strain on our welfare system. Many workers have been missing out on pension benefits too because their employer didn't offer a scheme or the employee didn't apply to join.

Auto-enrolment changes that. Now both the employer and the employee will pay into the scheme under which every employee will also receive tax relief on contributions - and will be free to leave the scheme at any time.

HOW WILL IT AFFECT MY BUSINESS?
In essence auto-enrolment will affect every employer. Any company, even a sole trader, who employs one or more members of staff, must have a pension provision in place that is complaint with the latest Government legislation.

It doesn't matter if that employee is not currently eligible to be auto-enrolled either. Under the new rules, the workforce will be assessed each pay period and if an employee becomes eligible within a certain pay period, the employer must comply and pay in pension contributions at that point.

That's why it is important to be prepared for auto-enrolment in plenty of time so you know exactly at what point those employees who may not be eligible at the start of the scheme will qualify for it.

The only exception to this is Director only run Ltd companies. If there is no employment contract or only a personal services contract in place for the Director, then the company is exempt from auto enrolment. Please contact us for further information. It is understood that sole traders with no employees, and therefore no PAYE reference, will not be required to make a pension provision under the new regulations.

WHAT CAN PBS DO TO HELP?
Well, we can do a lot more than you probably think, but we will come to that.

First, some important background information. Auto-enrolment is being rolled out in stages and began in October 2012 with larger employers. By 2018 practically all employers will be required to sign up under what are called 'staging dates', the date from which your company must adhere to the new regulations.

General advice is that any employer - even a one man band Ltd Company - will have a duty to notify the pension regulator of their employer status and confirm they will be required to introduce workforce pension provision for certain members of their staff. This is called a 'Declaration of Compliance Registration' and must be completed a minimum of five calendar months before a company's 'staging date'.

At PBS we can help with the whole process. We can help you find out what your staging date is and then make sure you are ready for the changes in plenty of time. We recommend that's at least 12 months before your staging date.

Why? Well there's a lot do - but remember we can do most of it for you.

Not only can we help you complete the initial compulsory registration and set up auto-enrolment on your behalf, more importantly, we can take on the long term management of your scheme too- always ensuring you remain compliant and never fall foul of the rules, risking a financial penalty.

That's where our auto-enrolment software comes in. Once you have implemented a pension scheme of your choice, we can assess the eligibility of your workforce every time a pay run is processed.

Bridging the gap with your Pension Provider

It is important to remember that at PBS we are not able to offer direct pensions advice around Auto-enrolment, but what we can do is liaise with your pension advisor and provide all the data they need to find the right scheme for your business.

We can set it up for you too and then do the really important bit - run the scheme on your behalf via our payroll services. Our trained and diligent staff will re-assess your entire workforce each pay period to ensure that, if they qualify for the scheme, you and the employee know about it - and we will report all the important figures to your pension company as well.

We know how hard you and your staff work already - that's why when it comes to auto-enrolment, we do all the hard work for you!

For more information about auto-enrolment and workplace pensions visit:

• https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions/about-workplace-pensions
• http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/automatic-enrolment.aspx