Automatic enrolment: How SMEs approach their pension duties

If you have staff who you must put into a pension scheme, you’ll need to have a pension scheme that is set up for automatic enrolment into which you and your staff will pay money to save for their retirement.

Unless you want to use an existing pension scheme for automatic enrolment, you’ll need to allow time to find a scheme yourself or get help from your accountant or a financial adviser.

You should do this approximately six months before your staging date as this can take some time to complete.

The Pensions Regulator has information in their online step by step guide which will help to you understand what to consider when choosing a pension scheme.

Tyre fitters Silverline Wheels and Tyres in Warwick is one of the first small businesses to successfully meet their workplace pensions duties on time.

Accounts manager Rhyan Barry who implemented automatic enrolment for the business said: “It’s a straightforward process, all the information is on The Pensions Regulator’s website and they send out a brochure which explains step by step what you need to do. If you follow these guidelines everything will be fine.”

To see how Silverline Wheels and Tyres approached their automatic enrolment duties go to The Pensions Regulator’s You Tube channel.