Automatic enrolment webinar Question time

1. Neil EsslemontHead of Industry liaison teamRebecca WoodleyIndustry liaison team 3 July 2014 Automatic enrolment webinar Question time The information we provide is for guidance only and should not be taken as a definitive interpretation of the law.

2. The story so far • As at the end of May 2014: • 15,009 employers have completed registration with us • covering over 16m workers • of which around 3.6m people were automatically enrolled You are here Staging rollout *Employers that did not exist (or werenot using a PAYE) as of 1 April 2012. Large employers Medium employers Small/micro employers New*employers Oct 2012 May 2017 June 2015 Feb 2018 April 2014

3. Employer compliance - 590 investigations to date ‘99.9% of employers who have completed their declaration of compliance (registration) with us have done so without the need for us to use our powers’ 590 investigations into possible non-compliance (1 Oct 2012-31 Jan 2014): • includes cases where employer asked for assistance pre-staging • includes providing information to those wishing to stage earlier. Total number of breaches 134 • Informal action • 28 instructions by email, letter, telephone or in person • 101 warning letters • Formal action • 4 compliance notices • 1 unpaid contribution notice

4. Staging profile (volumes of employers) Planning ahead is key. Very large volumes staging from January 2016

5. What to do before your staging date Provide a point of contact Start planning Choose a pension Check processes and software Communicate to staff

6. Lessons learnt

7. Some employers have sought professional help Many employers have had professional advice from: IFAs, Accountants, Pensions Advisors, Pensions Administrators, Employee Benefits Consultants Employers without professional support used information and guidance from a wide range of sources, including: TPR webinars, seminars, emails, letter templates Courses and seminars held by payroll providers, professional/industry bodies, pension providers, accountants, law firms etc or simply accessed via internet search You should consider: what elements of the duties they will help you with, and remember that the responsibility for complying with the automatic enrolment legislation will remain with the employer.

8. Check suitability of payroll and other software What software will you use to carry out the following? assessment enrolment communications, and calculation of pension contributions This is likely to require data held by payroll and HR systems. Choices: payroll software, and/or non-payroll software – middleware (this may be offered by the pension scheme provider). Information gathered during planning stages gave employers an understanding of what tasks they needed to do, but not how to do each individual task

9. Test payroll software in advance Whether the payroll will run smoothly is the biggest unknown pre-staging. Testing therefore assumes significant importance. Opportunity to test payroll systems in a timely manner No (or little) opportunity to test payroll systems Least risk Most risk Check timescales and availability of assessment module (or software upgrade) with supplier ‘Going in blind’ – will have to sort out problems in the live environment Time to review, revise, re-run before staging date “I tested [my assessment software] on the February payroll and I tested it again in March. I’m supremely confident - I know it will work”

10. Test payroll to pension provider communications Cleanse your employee data in advance – or it could cause errors. Providers require employers to upload employee data in a specific pro-forma*- check that payroll can create data in the correct format, prior to staging. Although not difficult, this process may be somewhat time consuming. Some examples from employers who have staged: Strict data formats – such as rules on capitalisation or commas – so the system will accept the data (eg requires ‘Mr.’ not ‘Mr’) Entire pro-forma might not be accepted until everything is rectified – employer may need to resolve these issues manually Unexpected glitches eg one employer employed a husband and wife who shared an email address; the system would not accept a duplicate email address Different field order in form eg information not in the same sequence in the formas in payroll system, so not a simple cut and paste Having been ‘sold’ a solution, the work required to clean data was unexpected *New standard from FoAE/BIB available in 2015/16?

11. Employers didn’t just provide mandatory communications Training in provider’s online portal Leaflets, posters and fliers Mandatory requirements Full suite of additional communications methods adopted, tailored and targeted approach FAQ sheets Notes in payslips A reliance on templates meant that employers did not feel that mandatory communications were too difficult Q&A sessions with advisors Roadshows and presentations

12. Declaration of compliance (registration) It is a legal duty to complete a declaration of compliance (registration) – confirming that the employer has completed their AE duties as of staging. The deadlines is five months after the staging date, but all postponements applied at the staging date must have come to an end before completion. Employers will need to provide certain details, for example: which pension schemes were used to comply with the duties, and the number of eligible jobholders automatically enrolled into each scheme. The regulator receives daily data updates from HMRC for every UK employer. Employers may receive a fine if they do not complete their declaration on time. You can start the online process early and partially complete your declaration. “You can’t actually finish until you go live, but we have made a start. TPR sent us reminder emails about it”

13. Lessons learnt – summary Employers need to know how to do each individual task, not just that a task needs to be done. Get help/advice if you need it, but remember that the responsibility for complying with the automatic enrolment legislation remains with the employer. Keep in mind the importance and scale of employee data cleansing in advance of staging. Employers should test their software in advance, including: assessment, payroll to pensions provider communications, and employee communications. Emerging data standard for 2015/16 (eg Friends of AE / BIB) may help payroll to pension provider communications (eg for enrolment and contributions). Many employers issued more than mandatory communications to their staff. Declaration of compliance (registration) is essential or the employer will be fined – you should not complete it until all staging date postponements end.

14. Planning timeline - www.tpr.gov.uk/planner

15. Your questions

16. Staging dates for new employers

17. Useful links Staging date tool:www.tpr.gov.uk/employers/tools/staging-date.aspx Planning tool:www.tpr.gov.uk/planner Lettertemplates for employers:www.tpr.gov.uk/employers/letter-templates-for-employers.aspx The essential guide to automatic enrolment:www.tpr.gov.uk/employers/e-brochure/index.html Questions to ask when selecting a new scheme providerwww.tpr.gov.uk/docs/selecting-a-good-automatic-enrolment-scheme.pdf Information about declaration of compliance (registration):www.tpr.gov.uk/declaration Ourdetailed guides for employers and pension professionals:www.tpr.gov.uk/pensions-reform/detailed-guidance.aspx

18. Useful links continued… More information about pensions and automatic enrolment: The Association of British Insurers:www.abi.org.uk/pensionproviders The National Association of Pension Funds:www.napf.co.uk National Employment Savings Trust:www.nestpensions.org.uk Independent Financial Advisers:www.unbiased.co.uk The Pensions Regulator: www.tpr.gov.uk/docs/selecting-a-good-automatic-enrolment-scheme.pdf

19. Useful links continued… Other webinars: Automatic enrolment – dispelling the myths www.tpr.gov.uk/press/webinar-automatic-enrolment-dispelling-the-myths.aspx Identifying your workforce and calculating minimum contribution levels www.tpr.gov.uk/press/webinar-identifying-workforce-calculating-minimum-contribution.aspx Implementing automatic enrolment systems and pension schemes www.tpr.gov.uk/press/webinar-implementing-automatic-enrolment-systems-schemes.aspx Automatic enrolment – are you ready? www.tpr.gov.uk/press/webinar-automatic-enrolment-are-you-ready.aspx Automatic enrolment registration. www.tpr.gov.uk/press/webinar-automatic-enrolment-registration.aspx

20. Resources There is a ‘We’re all in’ poster available to download on our website (you can add your company name and logo) at www.tpr.gov.uk/employers/raising-awareness-about-automatic-enrolment.aspx

21. We would greatly appreciate your feedback on today’s webinar.Please submit your feedback (and suggestions for future webinars) by completing the short evaluation form opposite. Feedback

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