I’m writing this just minutes after the Chancellor has sat down following the Autumn Statement today.
As predicted, there was not too much of note for the world of Employee Benefits (which is something of a relief!) - but one point did catch my eye. The Chancellor said;
“Over 5 million people have already been auto-enrolled into a pension thanks to our reforms in the last parliament.
To help businesses with the administration of this important boost to our nation’s savings, we’ll align the next two phases of contribution rate increases with the tax years.”
So this indicates that the first increases in the minimum contribution levels under Auto-Enrolment will now not be as previously set out by legislation and the Regulator. The first planned increase was due on the 1st October 2017, with a further increase on the 1st October 2018.
These increases will now move to tax years (which makes more sense) - and having just checked the supporting Budget document it will be the April “of the following year”. So this will move back a cost for both employers and employees by a few months - and will presumably be welcomed by all therefore.
This is of course an important point for employers as they finalise their pay and pension budgets for the next few years.
Best regards
Steve
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