Stakeholder Pensions - Your Obligations as an Employer
Stakeholder legislation was implemented on the 8 October 2001 for employers to provide access to a "pension scheme" or face penalties imposed by the Occupational Pension Regulatory Authority (OPRA), which can include significant fines for individuals and companies.
If you have five or more relevant employees, then you may have to offer access to a Stakeholder Pension, they can then decide whether a Stakeholder pension is right for them. Some employers will be exempt from this requirement, depending on what arrangements you already have in place and the eligibility for membership.
If you have fewer than 5 employees the business will be exempt from the requirement to offer access to a Stakeholder plan, although you may offer access if you wish.
Employers are not compelled to pay anything into a Stakeholder Scheme and once designated the only major burden on an employer will be to provide a mechanism to allow payments to be made by payroll deduction.
Your business may be exempt if you operate any of the following schemes:
- An Occupational Scheme
- A Group Personal Pension Plan
- Contributions to employees Individual Personal Pension Plans
If you are not exempt then you must offer a Stakeholder Scheme.
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