Pensions Reform

The latest reforms of workplace pensions will be implemented from October 2012, with two fundamental principles at their heart:

• all eligible employees must be automatically enrolled in a scheme.
• both employees and their employer must contribute to the scheme.

This apparent simplicity disguises a great deal of complexity. Employers should ensure they have drawn up plans to adopt the new rules and for communicating the changes to their staff. Indeed, early planning can provide opportunities for mitigating the cost of the reforms.

Aspira's Workplace Pensions Assessment will present topics such as:

• Auto-enrolment rules and staging dates - informing your business about its obligations under the new rules
• Designing existing or new schemes to meet the rules - employers have a number of decisions to make about contribution levels, scheme communications and eligibility rules.
• Scheme provider options - while there is a government-backed scheme available called NEST, is it the most suitable option?