And now pensions in the private sector

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 Thursday, May 2, 2019 - 10:33

It's one Bill after another, the Government yesterday published a Bill for an Act that will ensure that private sector workers are entitled to have a choice, by law, on whether they wish to make a contribution to a pension plan.

The Bill provides that, should an employee choose to participate in a pension plan, the law will require the employer to contribute towards that employee’s pension plan. 

Employers in the private sector will therefore have an obligation to provide a pension to employees.

The Bill sets out the minimum that will be required from employers in the private sector; although any employer wishing to do more – as many already do - can, at any point, increase their contributions.

The implementation of the proposed law is phased so that smaller employers have more time to deal with the requirements and have a longer period to make the requisite adjustments. Large employers will be required to comply with the provisions of the Act by July 2021, medium employers will be required to contribute by July 2022, small employers by July 2025 and micro employers by 2027. The definitions of whether the employer is small/medium or large will follow the definition in the Companies Act 2014, with the requisite changes so that the definitions also apply to employers who are not companies.

Workers will be free to choose not to participate in a pension scheme.

Workers will be entitled to take the benefit of this law once they are 15 years of age, they are earning at least £10,000 per annum, and must have been employed by that employer for a year.

02-05-19 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR