Auto Enrolment - 1 Year On.

Auto Enrolment into Workplace Pensions reached it's first anniversary.

In the period 1st October 2012 to 30th September 2013, 2256 employers have auto enrolled with 1.6 million workers now having a pension.

Opt out rates have been 9% of eligible employees with just 8% of under 30's opting out.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has issued 38 warning letters to employers and is conducting 89 investigations.

Between January 2014 and July 2014 a further 29,000 employers will reach their staging date.

What has been learnt?

Start Planning Early - With providers and advisers reaching capacity it is vital that you plan for Auto Enrolment early. TPR recommends that the process starts 12-18 months before your staging date.

Some providers have recently announced that they will not offer auto enrolment terms if you are within 6 months of your staging date due to the amount of work involved.

Payroll - Review your payroll provider to see what Auto Enrolment functions are available through them or what reports can be provided if you are intending to use an alternative Auto Enrolment software to assess your workers.

You may also need to look at your payroll cut off dates to ensure that you have time to assess your workforce before finalising your payroll.

Existing Pensions - Review your existing pension schemes as the pension provider may not allow you to use the existing scheme for auto enrolment purposes or you may need to change the contract terms.

Data - Run a test of your payroll data. This will identify any inaccuracies early and give you time to correct matters.

Communications - The more you communicate with employees the better the response and the less questions there will be when you do auto enrol your employees into the pension scheme.