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Business Pension Review are a team of Pension Consultants, Independent Financial Advisers and Accountants who review business pension schemes to ensure they are ready for new government legislation.

New reform legislation has been passed and will begin from 2012 where it will introduce new business pension requirements through various stages. Business Pension Review are a team of experienced professionals who look to help employers be compliant and ready for these changes. They look to review current circumstances and offer advice regarding where possible in order to reduce overall pension costs yet offer the most competitive and suitable pension scheme for each company.

Business Pension Review are highly qualified individuals who are work independently from any one pension provider. We offer advice and experience with regards to Business / Company Pension Schemes to ensure you have the most suitable scheme in place and the company is not paying too much for it.

Business Pension legislation Reform

New legislation will be introduced from 2012 and over the next two years companies are being advised to review their responsibilities to their employee's Pension provision. The government are introducing significant Business Pension (also known as Company Pension) reform and the new rules are set to have a large effect on employees and employers for various reasons.

The legislation will apply to all companies which employ one or more members of staff and a process called 'auto enrolment' will apply to employees aged between 22 and state pension age, earning more than £7,475. Therefore all employers will have to make a contribution into a company pension for the majority of their staff.

Automatic enrolment is being introduced where by a company will be required to place all eligible workers into a relevant business pension scheme and make a contribution into it. This will mean that the majority of employed people in the UK will have a Business pension plan to supplement their State Pension when they retire.

Business pension reform will mean that many firms will have to make contributions from 2012 but it is important for employers to consider their options as soon as possible to ensure they are fully compliant in time for the introduction of the new legislation. As an example, some firms may be looking to offer a pay rise to all staff in 2012, but should consider whether they can afford to do this when they are having to make a 3% contribution to everyones pension in the same tax year.

Therefore all companies should make sure they are aware of the exact time (known as the staging date) when their business should start making contributions to a business pension for all eligible employees. If they leave this process to the last minute then it could cause serious problems with the pensions regulator.

Even if your staging date is not going to be for a couple of years, it is advisable to make sure your business pension fund is appropriate now and in the future. It is worth reviewing your current position as changes in the pension market could mean that your scheme is no longer as efficient as it used to be. There are various reasons why some business pension schemes become less competitive over time but the main reasons are usually due to the charging structures being too high or poor fund performance. Whoever is responsible for the company pension scheme should consider how well your existing business pension provider communicates with the company and its scheme members. As an example, you should consider whether the existing business pension scheme offers online access to members showing employee benefit information and tools to help firms internal audit processes run smoothly.

If a company has a business pension in place then it would be advised to review its suitability and ensure it will compliant with the new pension reform legislation. If the company does not currently have a pension in place then it is advisable to assess what the new rules mean to them and decide what would need to be taken.

Employees of the company should assess their state retirement pension along with their business pension fund so that they know how much each plan might pay at their selected retirement date.

Employers have the responsibility of making sure they are compliant with the new business pension rules. The consequences of falling fowl of the new legislation can be very costly, for example a company employing 500 people could be fined up to £10,000 per day if they do not make appropriate pension payments for their employees and document this as required by the Pension Regulator.

A new basic business pension scheme, NEST (National Employment Savings Trust), previously known as personal accounts, will be introduced as a qualifying workplace pension scheme. It may be that the NEST pension is suitable for low salary employees but many companies would not look to put all their staff into the same type of scheme as it may not be appropriate for key members such as company directors. The intention is that NEST will operate like any other trust based, multi-employer defined contribution business pension scheme, but it will be tailored towards a target audience of low to moderate earners. There are various issues which should be considered regarding the NEST proposition and it is advisable to speak to professionals to check whether this scheme would be suitable for your company.

Employers need to consider various issues as soon as possible because there may be considerations or questions needing to be answered before 2012. To begin with, employers should conduct an analysis to see how many employees will be affected and whether their current business pension scheme meets the requirements. Even if they do have a qualifying occupational pension scheme, employers must decide whether to use this pension scheme or simply auto-enrol staff into NEST. Some firms may decide to use NEST for certain categories of employee and their a separate personal pension scheme for others.

The new legislation will almost certainly have a direct impact on employers' pension costs. A pension review may also be a good opportunity to assess benefits for all staff, including the ongoing provision of a defined benefit scheme.

What can Business Pension Review do to help?

We are a team of Independent Financial Advisers who specialise in business pension schemes. Our aim is to assist companies to review the existing business pension provision and ensure it is compliant for new legislation and assess potential cost savings. If there is currently no pension provision in place we would offer financial advice to establish a business pension which would comply with new UK pension legislation.

To speak to one of our professionals please contact Business Pension Review.

Business Pension Review offer an initial consultation phone call with an Independent Financial Adviser to discuss your potential needs.

Please contact us to book in an appropriate time.