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Browse frequently asked questions and answers on key HR issues. Navigate by topic or key word search. View latest additions or suggest a question to the XpertHR editorial team.
Who is entitled to a state retirement pension? What are the rates for the basic state pension? What is the state second pension? Are employers obliged to offer an occupational pension scheme? Is it permissible for an employer to offer a pension scheme only to full-time employees? What options are open to employees if their employer does not offer an occupational pension scheme? What is a stakeholder pension scheme? Are employers legally obliged to make stakeholder pension schemes available to all employees? What happens if the insolvent employer has failed to pay contributions into a pension plan? Does the National Insurance Fund cover unpaid pension fund contributions in an insolvency situation? Do employers have to provide survivors' pension benefits to same-sex partners? What changes to workplace pension law are being made by the legislation on auto-enrolment?
The duty on employers to auto-enrol certain workers into a qualifying pension scheme began to come into force on 1 October 2012. The largest employers (those with 120,000 or more people in their PAYE scheme) are affected first, with the duty being extended gradually to all employers based on their size. The Government has said that the duty will not apply to employers with fewer than 50 people in their PAYE scheme until June 2015 at the earliest.
Workers have protection from being subjected to a detriment, or dismissed, for a reason connected to the employer’s auto-enrolment duties. For example, employees must not be penalised for refusing to opt out of the pension scheme. Job applicants will also be protected from recruitment practices that favour candidates who agree to opt out. The employers’ duties in relation to employee protection and prohibited recruitment practices apply to all employers from July 2012.
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