Practice areas

From October 2012, new laws will be implemented over a four year staging period which will require all employers in Great Britain to automatically-enrol "jobholders" into a qualifying pension scheme. Larger employers will be required to comply with the new obligations first. Employers will be able to use their current occupational or personal pension schemes to fulfil their auto-enrolment duties so long as such schemes meet minimum quality requirements. A central government scheme, the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), will also be available for this purpose.

Auto-enrolment is designed to encourage pension savings by many more people. Statistics show that people are living longer in retirement, and there are pressures on the State pensions system, as well as health and long-term care provision. Auto-enrolment is part of a suite of changes designed to encourage individual saving for retirement. Other governmental proposals include allowing early access to pension savings and removing the mandatory age of 75 for purchasing an annuity to provide for benefits in retirement.