Steve Cook, Lonsdale IFA St Albans–Is your workplace pension set up correctly?

Friday 29 December, 2017

In December 2017 The Pensions Regulator (TPR) declared it will prosecute Crest Healthcare and its Managing Director, Sheila Aluko for trying to avoid providing their staff with a workplace pension.  Crest Healthcare and Sheila Aluko will appear at Brighton Magistrates Court on 22nd December 2017.  They are accused of wilfully failing to comply with their auto enrolment duties under Section 45 of the Pensions Act 2008 and providing false information to the TPR.

In November 2017 The Pensions Regulator issued their latest compliance and enforcement quarterly bulletin. It highlighted that the TPR issued unpaid contribution notices to 753 employees between July and September 2017.  This was up from 653 in the period April to June 2017.  These notices require an employer to pay all backdated contributions within 28 days. From November the TPR carried out spot checks in the south east and inspection teams were due to visit more than 200 businesses.

Steve Cook, independent financial adviser and member of the St Albans financial planning team said:

‘Auto enrolment has been really successful and excellent news for workers.  According to the TPR 8.8 million workers are now enrolled in a workplace pension scheme.  The number of employers that have met their auto enrolment duties is 850,000.  Although the number of employers that are not complying is very small the Crest Healthcare situation is a warning to all employers that they must comply correctly with auto enrolment legislation. It is also worrying that the number of unpaid contributions went up in the third quarter of 2017.   If your company requires workplace pension advice or wants to check that their workplace scheme has been set up correctly please call one of our Lonsdale Benefit Consultants pension advisers on 01727 845500.’

Please note: The FCA does not regulate some forms of auto enrolment.

 

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