Steve Webb, minister of state for pensions has announced a revised timetable for smaller employers having to comply with Auto-Enrolment pension legislation.

All employers with a staging date on or before 1 February 2014 are unaffected by this change.

Medium sized employers will be re-allocated dates between 1 April 2014 and 1 April 2015. This will result in a delay of as much as nine months for some.

Small employers will see their staging date delayed to between 1 June 2015 and 1 April 2017.

The delays described above have arisen as a result of the current poor shape of the economy and will give employers longer to plan and absorb the additional cost of funding employee pension benefits.

The Pensions Regulator, who will be responsible for the implementation of auto-enrolment, has announced that it will write to each employer giving them 18-months' notice before their particular staging date. Whilst the dates given in this note appear some way off, there will be considerable work to be done and it is very important that all employers consider the impact of Auto-enrolment and budget for it due to the inevitable impact it will have on their payroll costs.

Menzies Wealth Management Ltd will be hosting a number of workshops in late March specifically aimed at assisting employers in meeting their obligations with the minimum of cost and/or disruption to their existing employee pension arrangements.

Please email Toni Ambrosini tambrosini@menzieswm.co.uk  or if you prefer telephone him on 0207 387 5868 if you would like to arrange a consultation to discuss the consequences of Auto-Enrolment Pension Legislation on your business.