Plans for automatic enrolment into workplace pensions published

The Government has set out its plans to introduce automatic enrolment into workplace pensions, meaning that employers will be required to make pension contributions for the first time. 

In a written statement to Parliament, Minister for Pensions Steve Webb announced that the Government would proceed with implementation of automatic enrolment in line with the recommendations of an independent review of the scheme published today. The reforms will be phased in from October 2012. 

The scheme will apply to all employers regardless of size, with the review rejecting calls to exempt the smallest employers from the obligations. Other changes announced today include the introduction of an optional waiting period of up to three months before a worker must be automatically enrolled. The review confirmed the role of the National Employment Savings Trust, which will offer an alternative pension arrangement for employers that do not wish to enrol their employees into a workplace pension plan. 

Also

Preparing pension schemes for 2012 Steve Herbert, head of benefits strategy at Origen, offers his top tips for HR and employers on getting their pension schemes ready in time. 

Read the background to the proposals in the pensions section of the XpertHR employment law manual. 

Jury still out on 2012 pension reforms An October 2010 article in Occupational Pensions looks at recent research suggesting that employers are ambivalent about the forthcoming changes.