01 May 2012
With Auto enrolment looming, a couple of last minute tweaks are still being made to the proposed legislation. Two of these area’s are highlighted below.
Staging Dates (the date when the legislation applies to your business)
On Friday 23rd March the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) published a consultation setting out its proposals on staging dates for employers with less than 250 people in their PAYE scheme.
It should be stressed that at the moment, this is only a consultation document and as the consultation doesn’t close until 4th May, we probably won’t have the definitive dates until June at the earliest.
If you would like to know your provisional staging date, please contact us.
Earnings Thresholds
The DWP also published a response to their consultation ‘Automatic enrolment earnings thresholds review and revision 2012/2013’ on Monday 26th March.
Quite sensibly, the thresholds that have been laid before parliament have been aligned with tax and National Insurance Contribution (NIC) limits – most employers and payroll providers will already be familiar with these:
- £8,105 for the automatic enrolment earnings trigger,
this is also the level of the standard tax personal allowance
- £5,564 for the lower limit of the qualifying earnings band
this is also the NIC lower earnings limit
- £42,475 for the upper limit of the qualifying earnings band
this is also the NIC upper earnings limit
It must be stressed that technically, these are just draft regulations and are subject to affirmation from both Houses of Parliament, although we do not expect them to change.
The thresholds must be reviewed ahead of every tax year, although this does not necessarily mean that they will be increased or stay in line with tax/NIC thresholds.
Wingate Benefits Solutions are here to assist you in planning for the new reforms. Should you wish to discuss the above in more detail or any other aspect of your pension scheme please do not hesitate to contact your usual Wingate Benefit Solutions adviser or call us on 0844 406 0027.
Tax and legislation are liable to change. This information is based on WBS’s current understanding of UK law and HM Revenue & Customs practice and legislation we believe may apply in the future. No guarantees are given regarding the effectiveness of any arrangements entered into on the basis of the information contained herewith. It is recommended that professional advice is sought prior to entering into any financial arrangement.
