When do employers have to start enrolling their workers?
The date workers are enrolled depends on the size of the company they work for and is being rolled out over the next six years (this is called a staging date).
-
Large employers (with 250 or more workers), will have to start automatically enrolling their workers from October 2012 to February 2014 (some employers may choose to start earlier)
-
Medium employers (50 – 249 workers) will have to start automatically enrolling their workers from April 2014 to April 2015
-
Small employers (49 workers or less) will have to start automatically enrolling their workers from June 2015 to April 2017
-
New employers (established after April 2012) will have to start automatically enrolling their workers from May 2017 to February 2018
-
Employers who chose to use Defined Benefit or Hybrid Schemes can delay their staging date until 30 September 2017
Once The Pensions Regulator has notified employers of their date to enrol eligible workers into a workplace pension, employers can choose to postpone automatic enrolment for up to three months from that date. If they choose to postpone, employers must inform those workers in writing. Employers can also use the ‘postponement period’ for any newly eligible workers.
A full list of dates when employers have to automatically enrol their workers can be found on The Pensions Regulator website:
www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/tools/staging-date