Automatic Enrolment – the cost continues to increase from April 2018
Under the Pensions Act 2008, every employer in the UK must put certain staff into a pension scheme and contribute towards it. This is called ‘automatic enrolment’. If you employ at least one person you are an employer and you have certain legal duties.
Under law, the minimum automatic enrolment pension contributions are set to increase this coming April and again in April 2019. Employers will be required to take steps to prepare for the increase in minimum contributions towards their employee’s pension pots.
The total minimum contribution will increase from 2% to 5% where employers must contribute a minimum of 2% and employees must contribute the remaining 3%.
Contributions will increase again on the 6th April 2019, from 5% to 8% where employers must contribute 3% and employees making up the difference, contributing 5%.
Employers can choose to pay the full 5% in April 2018 and 8% in April 2019. In these cases, the employee will not need to pay any contributions unless the rules of the pension scheme say otherwise.
The Pension Regulator has a good guide here: