Over the next year, over 700,000 businesses who employ fewer than 50 staff will be required to set up a pension for their staff members, start making contributions on their behalf and begin making deductions from salaries to pay into a pension.

This can be a daunting process; there are hundreds of individual tasks and responsibilities that an employer must comply with - even if there is only one employee.

If you have not yet been contacted by The Pensions Regulator, then you can check when your "staging date" is here:

http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/staging-date.aspx

Although it looks like a daunting process (it is quite involved), most of it should be able to be dealt with by your payroll software, such as Sage. This might mean buying an add on however, and it is vital that you understand what extra parts you need and why.

Prior to starting a scheme you must:

- assess all of your employees to see if they should be enrolled, or have a right to join.

- choose a pension provider that complies with all of the requirements, or assess your current scheme if you have one.

- communicate with your staff about what you are doing.

- ensure you do not discriminate in any way as a result of introducing a pension. This can include, for example, telling staff that there won't be as much of a pay rise this year as the company must start contributing to a pension.

- inform the Pensions Regulator that you have a scheme and if you are changing your start date to fit in with your pay reference periods.

There are lots of guides available on the Pensions Regulator Site although they run to hundreds of pages.

Advice

Here at Bury Financial Advisers we have experience of guiding employers through the maze of legislation; we can also help communicate to your employees and give them advice when needed. We have detailed processes already to hand and can help choose the best pension scheme for you and your staff.

It is a potential minefield, but don't leave it too late. Ideally, you need to seek advice around 12 months before your staging date.

Get in touch with us and we can help make sense of it all. If you mention Best of Bury you will receive a free on-site consultation with an experienced adviser.

For more information on Bury Financial Advisers or to book your free consultation, click here or call 0161 872 8013.

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