On Friday the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) issued the Government’s formal response to the above consultation which closed on the 7th May 2013.

The full document can be viewed via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/workplace-pensions-proposed-technical-changes-to-automatic-enrolment

The summary of the changes is shown on page 3, and I have copied it below for your convenience:

“The Automatic Enrolment (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2013 that were laid before Parliament on 11th October change the existing legislation so that:

• Employers can choose to use alternative definitions of pay reference periods for both assessing jobholder status and determining whether a scheme is a qualifying scheme.
• The automatic enrolment joining window is extended from one month to six weeks.
• The deadline for employers to provide information to individuals on their opt in and joining rights is extended to six weeks.
• The deadlines for registration and postponement notices fit with the extended joining window.
• The extended deadline for passing worker contributions to a pension scheme applies to all new joiners (including contract joiners).
• The opt out notice provisions make clear that schemes can customise notices.
• There is greater clarity and consistency concerning the requirements for defined benefit test schemes in relation to the appropriate age, service limits and revaluation that apply in those schemes.”

These changes will come into force on the 1st November 2013 (except for the joining window and registration deadlines which commence on the 1^st April 2014).

On the face of it, these changes are welcome, although (and as I have said before) they may add to the perceived complexity of Auto-Enrolment for those employers just about to embark on this journey.

The response recognises this issue, and states that “The Pensions Regulator is updating their detailed employer guidance and guide for software developers, and will publish these shortly”. So hopefully we will have some more user-friendly documents to work from in the near future.

One area has caught my eye as potentially important to many followers of this blog: the extension of the joining window from one month to 6 weeks. This is good news, as the one month deadline was causing many employers an issue. The response does however highlight:

“We would regard six weeks as the exception not the norm”

Which suggests that most employers should perhaps try to take a prudent line of seeking to work towards the one month window whenever possible.

And hand in hand with this change is a welcome extra breathing space for Postponement notices to be delayed for up to six weeks also. Again, this can only be good news for hard-pressed employers seeking to comply with this legislation.

So yet more change on Auto-Enrolment, and one hopes that the tinkering will finally come to an end now. With the 2014 tidal-wave of employers due to enrol just over the horizon, it’s vital that both employers and professional advisers can have certainty in the legislative framework which supports this initiative.

Best regards

Steve