Transport operator FirstGroup will ensure its compliance with the reforms by introducing an auto-enrolment hub that will sit between its pension provision, payroll system, reward portal and communication processes.
The firm conducted a beauty parade of potential providers in June and planned to make an appointment last month, ahead of its April 2013 staging date.
The hub will be used to collect management information such as the date people join the pension scheme, their date of birth, gross pay, and employer and employee contributions. It will also record and calculate when an employee is due to be auto-enrolled (or re-enrolled after three years) and the dates of any opt-outs.
John Chilman, group reward and pensions director, says: “If The Pensions Regulator comes knocking on our door in a year’s time and says ‘prove to me you have invited everyone on the right date’, we have the audit trails and the logs.”
In April 2013, all new staff will be auto-enrolled into the company’s defined contribution (DC) scheme, which will offer phased contributions reaching 5% for both employer and employee. Once staff have been with the firm nine years, they will be able to join its defined benefit scheme the following April.
John Chilman will be speaking at Employee Benefits Live on 25 September
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